Quality of medical care -- Extremadura

I don't know anything about this town you are going to, but thought I would tell you of my medical experience in Spain.

Most small towns will have a clinic with limited hours. Don't count on anyone there speaking English well enough to really communicate with you very much. Even in larger towns, I wouldn't count on it. In Palencia, the hospital was fairly large for a city of only 80,000. It seems they had to search the whole hospital to find a Dr. who spoke English well enough to explain things to me. They also found a male nurse who spoke English fairly well too. They used Google translate on their iphone for a few translations to make sure they were correct in explaining a few things to me.

In the small town of Carrion de los Condes, (under 3000 residents) the clinic was very small, but very nice. Almost a total lack of English and again they used their iphones to help with a translation. They sent me in an ambulance to Palencia, 45 min. away when they thought I might need an operation. The ambulance looked fully equipped.

In Fromista, a town of just 850 people, they also had a small clinic, but this town is along the Camino so the clinic got a lot of pilgrims. They had a flat rate of 75 euro to be seen.

The care in each of the clinics and hospital was excellent and everyone was very helpful. They liked my German insurance card, which meant everything was paid for.

See if you can get the information about your condition, expected treatment, etc. translated so that you could just hand it to them in the clinic or hospital.

Hey Janet,
I happen to know a few doctors in Extremadura, two speak English and one does not. Hopefully the odds are in your favor should you find yourself needing medical attention!
That region is not on the typical tourist path, and therefore you will not find as many English speakers as you would in bigger cities, but there are definitely some. Also, your fluent French may prove to be very useful as most locals who are older than mid forties studied French instead of English. To be safe, I would prepare an emergency card with your health history and medication list translated into spanish to take with you.
I am a nurse and would not hesitate to seek care at a hospital in Extremadura.

I'd suggest contacting the US embassy in Madrid and/or the consulate in Barcelona and asking what they know about medical care in Extremadura in a situation like yours. You probably need to work with Consular Services. I couldn't immediately find a useful email address for either entity, but the State Department has a general one that might (or might not) point you in the right direction: AskACS@state.gov . This is not Spain-specific, so be sure to mention the country in your inquiry.

I suspect that you may end up needing to call Madrid or Barcelona to get the information you need. My one attempt to obtain info about the Schengen 90-day limit from a US embassy by email elicited a quick response, but it didn't really address my question and had clearly been created by selecting pre-written paragraphs.

I needed non-critical care in Slovenia last year, and my mother was hospitalized with life-threatening pneumonia in Greece 20 years ago. English was widely spoken by the doctors in both places, but I think you're right to assume that Extremadura may be a bit different. Greece was scary because the island of Chios didn't have a fully-equipped hospital. You are very, very smart to seek information ahead of time.

Janet,

First & foremost, I presume you've discussed your concerns with your cardiologist.

My mom has AF & she takes a couple of daily medications to help her keep a "normal(heart) rate.

AF can be very tricky, especially because one may not have any apparent symptoms, but it can definitely lead to
very serious complications (I'm sure your doctor has explained) that can be preventable.

You must also understand that while cardioversion may or may not work, it may only offer a temporary fix.

I would suggest discussing possible treatment options with your cardiologist.

You may also consider contacting the U.S. Embassy in Spain ( Madrid, Barcelona, or any on this list)
which will provide you with doctors, in or near your area, whom may speak English.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/spain.html#more_embassies

If you take medications, make a list of them, but make sure you include the chemical name, as well as the brand name.

For example; 'Tylenol' is the brand name for 'Acetaminophen'

Atrial Fibrillation = Fibrilación Auricular

Hope this helps.

I second the idea of getting a written card with your info in Spanish. Learn to say the condition, too. A description of the issue and its Spanish name, generic prescription names, what treatment you have been told in the US. All that. I have not had to use it, but my travel insurance (travel guard) says it has a translation service for medical issues. See if your policy has such a thing. I have not been to this part of Spain, but in rural areas there isn't a lot of English, so your issue will be language. Your French should help somewhat, both because someone will likely speak it and because it's a romance language so there will be similarities.

Hi all,

We've finished the extremadura portion of our trip and I'm happy to report that I had no medical problems to speak of and that we had an amazing time. If anyone here is into birding/wildlife/nature photography and would like a recommendation for a B&B with full pension option in extremadura, let me know. (I haven't checked the forum rules, but I'm assuming no advertising, like every other forum.)

Now I have questions about Malaga, but that is for another post.

Hi Janet,
It's great to hear that you enjoyed Extremadura & didn't have any medical issues.

Enjoy the rest of your trip as well! :-)