Basic Nursing Care in Spanish Hospitals

piglet

Hi

I have just read....
In Spain it is customary for a family member to provide basic nursing care (feeding and personal hygiene) unlike the system in the UK where it would be provided by nursing staff. However‚ in most areas where British expatriates live‚ there are privately-run nursing agencies which charge commercial rates for services similar to those you would find in the UK. These charges are not normally covered by private medical insurance. Shocked

Is this correct...? Has anyone any experience of this and if so what sort of
cost are we talking about?

Any info or first hand experience would be appreciated...as its not something I would ever have thought of.....

Thanks
Piglet

Countryboy

Hi piglet,
I happened to spend a little time (One Day) in a private hospital in Alicante "Clinica Vistamosta" for a keyhole operation on my knee I had torn the cartilage and this was sewn together, I went into the clinic around 08:00am, I was treated very well and the operation was painless. The nurses kept checking on me during my recovery every 15 minutes or so, and I got discharged around 19:00 that evening. I had to provide my own crutches to get around on and go to a different clinic three weeks later for the removal of the dressings.

In Spain, the general hospitals do have nursing staff whose job it is to administer drugs, change dressings, and are present when the doctors do their rounds; the rest is left to the patient’s family members. This is looked upon as normal as the family can cater for the relative’s feeding, clothing, and personal needs.

Unlike in the UK, the Spanish have an extended family who take it in turns to look after the relative who is in hospital, this keeps the running costs of hospitals down and the money saved by doing this goes on to provide excellent doctors who are employed by the National Health system.

It is advisable to carry private medical insurance as this ensures that you get the best treatment and care that private hospitals can give, in some private clinics the nurses give 24 hour care including feeding and personal needs this is depending on the cover that the insurance offers, the more you pay the better treatment you get, you also have the choice of surgeon, treatment, and hospital or clinic. So the better off you are the better treatment you get.

piglet

Hi CB...
thanks for the info. Interesting. But according to the source...Medical insurance did not cover basic care...I wonder how many people consider this. Shocked

Out of interest do the relatives just hang around the hospital all the time?
Is there any facilities for them

It seems a little strange especially if people have to drive some distance to get to the hospital.

Ponderous

casaianda

My husband required a months hospitalisation since living here in Spain - in the Parque San Antonio Private Hospital in Malaga..

I was encouraged to stay with him 24/7 to do the basic care - he is a very private man and would have found some of the jobs I had to do for him extremely embarrasing if done by a stranger. Nursing staff did all the wound dressings, clinical observations etc. All other patients had family members with them during the day and some stayed overnight. The only time I wasn´t allowed to be with him was when he was in ICU when visiting was restricted to 2 x half hours per day and all personal care was done by Nursing and Ancillary Staff.

There was a bed for me in his private side ward and, although meals were not provided for me, there was an excellent - and very cheap - restaurant on the ground floor. I used his en suite facilities to shower etc.

On the odd day that I wasn´t able to be with him the ward staff did everything required and called in to see him every 15 minutes and always ensured that his buzzer was at hand should he need help. When I was with him the Auxillary ward staff checked him every 30-45 minutes and the qualified staff every hour or more frequently if required. We found that Nurses tend to just do Nursing/Medical jobs and leave basic care to Auxillary staff.

All this was covered on his Health Insurance - and, despite 2 weekly checkups even now 3 years on all of which are covered on his Health Insurance, the policy cost has never risen.

A neighbour of ours has just been treated for Breast Cancer in our local State Hospital at Velez Malaga. Although her husband visited daily all her personal care was done by the ward Ancillary Staff as they could see that he was uncomfortable doing this.

piglet

Hi casaianda,

Thankyou for sharing your experience of care. You can imagine my concerns when I read the Age Concern website, and discovered this.

Kind regards
Piglet