Janesathome
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Future: Portugal (fall 2019)
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Hi, I need to seek medical help for abdominal/pelvic pain and swelling that has just arisen (fast!), a few days post Camino. I see by this forum that I should bring cash in addition to my medical insurance info. Trouble is, I speak no Spanish and need to communicate! Any suggestions for where to go I am on my own in Burgos
And - bad time to find out the Vodafone SIM card I bought in Porto doesn’t work in Spain.
When I went to a private hospital in A Coruña this year I considered it a plus that I was able to pay on the spot and then claim back on my insurance. Last year I went to the public hospital in Santiago to rule out a stress fracture. They had no facility to take payment at time of service. I received my bill several months later for 361€, payable only by wire transfer. My insurance did pay most of the hospital bill, but not the extra $30 I had to pay for wire transfer.Downside is I had to pay and claim back on my insurance
And Spanish medical care is world class.
Hi, I need to seek medical help for abdominal/pelvic pain and swelling that has just arisen (fast!), a few days post Camino. I see by this forum that I should bring cash in addition to my medical insurance info. Trouble is, I speak no Spanish and need to communicate! Any suggestions for where to go I am on my own in Burgos
And - bad time to find out the Vodafone SIM card I bought in Porto doesn’t work in Spain.
Get to the University of Burgos "Urgencia" (ER).
i hope you got to the hospital and are ok. (Only seen this).
For anyone else who may need it, in my experience, Spanish hospitals actually provide English translators
Let us know how you are. All the best.
I am replying to this thread just so people in the future who may come across this are prepared for a different experience and don’t go in thinking it’s all going to be easy peasy being a non-Spanish speaker. Last night in tiny Villafranca’s Centro de Salud and again today at the ER at the University Hospital here in Burgos we had an *extremely* difficult time. Not a single person spoke English. If they have a “translator” then that person wasn’t around. Absolutely no idea what we would have done if we and the nurses & doctor didn’t have access to Google Translate.
I am replying to this thread just so people in the future who may come across this are prepared for a different experience and don’t go in thinking it’s all going to be easy peasy being a non-Spanish speaker. Last night in tiny Villafranca’s Centro de Salud and again today at the ER at the University Hospital here in Burgos we had an *extremely* difficult time. Not a single person spoke English. If they have a “translator” then that person wasn’t around. Absolutely no idea what we would have done if we and the nurses & doctor didn’t have access to Google Translate.
I hope that the issue which caused you or your associate to need medical help has been addressed and that whoever it is makes a full recovery.
You make the entirely reasonable point that in Spain, the vast majority of people speak Spanish. It is wise to be prepared for that to be the case.
Fortunately there is virtually no need to speculate on how you might function without google translate, or similar. It’s unlikely that they’re going away.
in big hospitals you will find somebody Who speaks English
You will have no troubles with the language barrier.
Sorry to hear your story, I hope your hip is doing better now! I can understand the situation in the Emergency ward, rather than a regular office, their main purpose is to rule out any condition that may require inmediate intervention, they will not necessarily provide an accurate diagnosis of each case, that is what specialists are meant to do.Regrettably, not my experience in early May 2016. At a major hospital, one doctor dragged off her other, more urgent, patient provided hesitant translations etc. From one x-ray shot of my right hip (and, I think, greater consideration of my age) the diagnosis was "osteo arthritis" and "rest".
A few weeks later in the UK, with x-ray shots in many positions, the result was no bone issues and advice to exercise. So I walked Thames Path and then Southwark to Canterbury.
I hope your hip is doing better now!
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?