- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances: July 2021, April 2023, May 2024
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When I went to the medical centre at Astorga (April 2019) there was no charge (probably because I said I had a European Health Insurance Card) I was billed for the ambulance to Leon but my EHIC covered that too.I am in Najera today, having started in SJPdP last Monday. I met my traveling companion at Orisson. It’s been lovely to do the journey with someone else. We’ve met pilgrims from the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and just a few from the US where I’m from (Maine).
We’ve seen groups of Pilgrims and a few going solo—perhaps a total of 40 with 10 new faces here in Nájera.
The route has been well resourced—no problems getting beds by reserving one day in advance. Bars are open, backpack forwarding services are working.
I tripped on a curb and fell in Nájera today and thought I’d share some info about accessing healthcare. The police were on the spot in seconds and helped me to my feet. They were kind and encouraged me to walk a bit to the medical center. At the door a doctor told me that to get care I needed to pay them 100 euro and if they didn’t spend it all treating me they’d give a refund. They don’t take cash or credit cards and said I’d need to go to a bank and get a check from them and bring it to the hospital. This seemed like a lot of work given that I wasn’t too beat up. I thanked them and went in my way. I wonder what the process would have been if I’d been unconscious? Adventures abound here.
Buen Camino.
I sympathise. The procedure is called payment by bank transfer. My guess is that residents of Spain, if they didn't have a tarjeta sanitaria anyway, would pay for the treatment after they receive a bill from the clinic or doctor. For non-residents from abroad, this constitutes an additional hurdle for the clinic's administration so they prefer payment upfront. And since they are not equipped to accept cash or credit card, you have to go to the bank, hand over money to them in the form of cash, and the bank will then execute the bank transfer on your behalf.it is that we have been sent away to a bank to do some incomprehensible procedure before the treatment
Unfortunate that it discouraged you (and others) from getting treatment. This cumbersome Spanish payment system, although especially unpleasant if one is sick or injured, is not uncommon. I remember being at the Foreign office in Pamplona to apply for my NIE or foreign resident card and having to pay for the administrative costs in the same manner. I thought how inefficient can you be.The issue being discussed here is not whether American or Canadian pilgrims are unwilling to pay upfront, it is that we have been sent away to a bank to do some incomprehensible procedure before the treatment. This is a type of refusal of treatment, regardless of the pilgrim having already offered to pay upfront. It certainly discouraged both myself and @awunderli from getting treatment, and it would discourage me in future in the same situation, regardless of the money or credit cards that I was carrying and the amount of medical insurance which I had. Thanks to this experience, I no longer rely on Spanish clinics for treatment for minor ailments or injury. Instead, I carry antibiotics, for example, and will take them if I think I need them. My current supply of antibiotics was purchase in Mexico without a prescription and will be consumed without medical advice, thanks to this experience. Not casually, but as I think necessary.
Thanks so much for this heads up on leaving Nájera. Very much appreciated.Awunderli,
Thank you for your update.
I am sorry to learn of your tumble.
Do take care when you leave Najera for the path is long and hot going west. Stock up on water for there are few places with supplies along the way; after Azofra there is a barren stretch of close to 10km.
Carpe diem and Buen camino.
Wow! Sorry to hear of your problem. I was unaware of medical process. My insurance is suppose to cover international travel but now I am concerned. Appreciate your information. Buen CaminoI am in Najera today, having started in SJPdP last Monday. I met my traveling companion at Orisson. It’s been lovely to do the journey with someone else. We’ve met pilgrims from the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and just a few from the US where I’m from (Maine).
We’ve seen groups of Pilgrims and a few going solo—perhaps a total of 40 with 10 new faces here in Nájera.
The route has been well resourced—no problems getting beds by reserving one day in advance. Bars are open, backpack forwarding services are working.
I tripped on a curb and fell in Nájera today and thought I’d share some info about accessing healthcare. The police were on the spot in seconds and helped me to my feet. They were kind and encouraged me to walk a bit to the medical center. At the door a doctor told me that to get care I needed to pay them 100 euro and if they didn’t spend it all treating me they’d give a refund. They don’t take cash or credit cards and said I’d need to go to a bank and get a check from them and bring it to the hospital. This seemed like a lot of work given that I wasn’t too beat up. I thanked them and went in my way. I wonder what the process would have been if I’d been unconscious? Adventures abound here.
Buen Camino.
Hello awunderli, sorry to hear about your fall. My wife was sick a few years ago is Santiago, we went to their public hospital were she had fantastic service with no charge at all. Thanks for the update, unfortunately it will be a while until we are aloud to travel overseas. Buen Camino.I am in Najera today, having started in SJPdP last Monday. I met my traveling companion at Orisson. It’s been lovely to do the journey with someone else. We’ve met pilgrims from the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and just a few from the US where I’m from (Maine).
We’ve seen groups of Pilgrims and a few going solo—perhaps a total of 40 with 10 new faces here in Nájera.
The route has been well resourced—no problems getting beds by reserving one day in advance. Bars are open, backpack forwarding services are working.
I tripped on a curb and fell in Nájera today and thought I’d share some info about accessing healthcare. The police were on the spot in seconds and helped me to my feet. They were kind and encouraged me to walk a bit to the medical center. At the door a doctor told me that to get care I needed to pay them 100 euro and if they didn’t spend it all treating me they’d give a refund. They don’t take cash or credit cards and said I’d need to go to a bank and get a check from them and bring it to the hospital. This seemed like a lot of work given that I wasn’t too beat up. I thanked them and went in my way. I wonder what the process would have been if I’d been unconscious? Adventures abound here.
Buen Camino.
Hi, sorry to hear about your fall but glad you are well. I had such terrible foot problems on the Camino a few years ago near Sahagun, bleeding and infected toes especially the small toe on my left foot, that I went to the clinic there and saw the doctor. He was friendly and professional and as I had travel insurance from South Africa I only had to pay for the medication which I got on his prescription from the pharmacy. I had to pay for the meds, roughly E15, and was all fixed up by the time I reached Santiago. Great clinic facilities and staff.I am in Najera today, having started in SJPdP last Monday. I met my traveling companion at Orisson. It’s been lovely to do the journey with someone else. We’ve met pilgrims from the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and just a few from the US where I’m from (Maine).
We’ve seen groups of Pilgrims and a few going solo—perhaps a total of 40 with 10 new faces here in Nájera.
The route has been well resourced—no problems getting beds by reserving one day in advance. Bars are open, backpack forwarding services are working.
I tripped on a curb and fell in Nájera today and thought I’d share some info about accessing healthcare. The police were on the spot in seconds and helped me to my feet. They were kind and encouraged me to walk a bit to the medical center. At the door a doctor told me that to get care I needed to pay them 100 euro and if they didn’t spend it all treating me they’d give a refund. They don’t take cash or credit cards and said I’d need to go to a bank and get a check from them and bring it to the hospital. This seemed like a lot of work given that I wasn’t too beat up. I thanked them and went in my way. I wonder what the process would have been if I’d been unconscious? Adventures abound here.
Buen Camino.
When we had to obtain care--in Bilbao in 2017--we explained that our insurance was a reimbursement plan. The receptionist took down our particulars and a couple of months later the factura arrived in the email address I had given them. I promptly wired them their funds. (Cost more to pay the wire fee and conversion than to pay the bill.) It's not universally true that they're set up to require a local check up front. (We were willing to pay cash but they weren't set up for that.) They are able to send out the bill in a while.When I was a hospitalera in the municipal albergue in Nájera I got an eye infection and went to the same Centro de Salud. I was very impressed with the level of care and time the doctor took. He made sure that I came back within a week to check on me but...I have a European Health Card so no payment was required. IMHO the reason you needed to pay was because you are not a member of the EU. Americans usually do need to pay upfront unless of course they decide to wave the fee which I wouldn't expect anyone to do.
It's worth checking whether the clinic is private or public before receiving treatment.
UK /EU citizens should use their GHIC/EHIC to access public health services. You may still have to pay some costs but no more than a Spanish user would.
Private services are of course all chargeable so it is best, if possible, to understand how your travel insurance works before you travel.
Note for GHIC holders that it is not an alternative to travel insurance.
A few years ago I slipped and fell just outside the Oviedo Cathedral. In great pain I took a taxi to the nearest hospital. I had an X-Ray taken to determine the damage, and it turned out I broke a bone in my upper arm and needed an operation. For the hospital to be able to operate on me I needed an address in town, but I live in Mexico. So they gave me horse-size doses of pain-killers and immobilized my arm so I could fly home to get treatment. It is a harrowing experience to take cars, trains and airplanes across the world with a broken bone, leaving my backpack behind (impossible to carry). Upon landing I was taken to hospital and operated right away. In the Oviedo hospital no payment was asked for, but a few months later I got a bill for consultation and an X-Ray from the hospital. About 100 euros, which I duly paid by wire transfer. I will never forget the lesson: crocs are slippery on old stone pavement when wet! (BTW, the albergue in Oviedo was very helpful and later shipped my bag to a friend in Madrid.)I sympathise. The procedure is called payment by bank transfer. My guess is that residents of Spain, if they didn't have a tarjeta sanitaria anyway, would pay for the treatment after they receive a bill from the clinic or doctor. For non-residents from abroad, this constitutes an additional hurdle for the clinic's administration so they prefer payment upfront. And since they are not equipped to accept cash or credit card, you have to go to the bank, hand over money to them in the form of cash, and the bank will then execute the bank transfer on your behalf.
Other clinics or doctors, my guess again, prefer to not get paid at all for small amounts instead of going through the whole rigmarole. It is not so much the Camino who provides as the Administration who prohibits.
Others again have more faith and send a bill to the former pilgrim some time in the future when she or he is abroad somewhere far away.
The benzoin in theory glues down the blister so it doesn’t keep reforming so doesn’t lift the nail off. The MD in me thinks it’s voodoo, but an Army medic did it to me my first night of Nijmegen March (wearing steel toed bootsSame thing happened to me not far from Najera in June. In Spain it is fairly easy to buy Betadine, which is an iodine-based antiseptic, and very effective. I just put a few drops every night on top of the falling nail and the liquid by itself went under it. No injection needed. Also it was important to cover it to avoid chafing inside the boot. In time the nail fell off and a new one is growing in its place.
I always carry more meds than necessary, including antibiotics. Cheaper, faster if you know what ails you.May 2017, I tripped and broke my right wrist within sight of Portomarin. I took a taxi to the hospital in Lugo. I received X-rays, and they set my wrist. I they took a copy of my passport when I checked into the ER. I never received a bill. A week later in SDC, I went to the hospital because the cast was very tight. I received x-rays, and had an interpreter escort me around. I was presented a bill for ~$500 when I left which I paid for by credit card. I did need an open reduction with a plate when I returned home 3+ weeks later.
October 2017, I had a sinus infection when I got to Ponferrada. I went to the ER early on a Saturday morning. I went into the exam room and explained I needed a script for an antibiotic. The doctor wrote the script. On the way out, the desk wanted me to give them a copy of my passport. I handed my passport to them, but they wanted me to go down the block and return with a photo copy. I just thought I did not understand enough Spanish. The guy walked me out to the parking lot, gave me some complicated directions to a tienda where I could get a copy made, and said IF YOU WANT. I still did not understand, and asked him to repeat it again this time into Google Translate. He did, I reread what he said twice, he just looked at me and smiled (not a wink wink, but just a smile). I left and did not return.
I now have an extended array of meds in my kit including antibiotics. I feel like Jost from The Way.
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