refused medical treatment in torremolinos emergency room

[laswalkirias]

May I please admit that I am one of those foolish people who have not even mastered the basics of spoken Spanish and to a certain extent what has happened to me is not suprising and some would say justly deserved!!
Last Sunday a Friend of mine from UK was staying with me lost his medication and discovered the loss at 1am Monday morning. He was extremely agitated and I was worried sick because I knew that within 8 to 12 hours he would not be able to function.
As we were in Torremolinos I ran down to the 24 hour chemist and explained my problem to the lady on duty and she checked out the medication on her Spanish pharmaceutical database and advised me to get a doctor to write an emergency prescription.
I asked if there was anywhere I could go to see a private doctor ands he said she didn't know any and directed me to the 24 hour emergency station at San Miguel
I took a cab there and within 3 or 4 minutes I was there. I went up to the receptionist and said that I needed to speak to a doctor or nurse as I had a friend who was sick.
Immediately he started shouting at me in Spanish and banged his fist on the desk saying "No English, Espanol, No English, Espanol getting louder and angrier with me.
Behind him was aSpanish doctor and nurse and as I tried to say Emergency he just carried on shouting at me No English
I looked at the doctor who was on duty and asked if anyone spoke English and he just ignored me and I got the sweeping of the hand from the receptionist to indicate to me that I should leave.
I think I was there for no longer than a few minutes and realized that there was no help for a stupid ignorant Brit without Spoken Spanish skills!!
When I got back to the apartment I told the night security what had happened and he said that he could take my friend to his Spanish doctor in the morning and agreed with me that it was strange that a doctor in the emergency room couldn't speak English In a tourist resort as big as Torremolinos
Yes I am in the wrong for being arrogant enough to believe that a university educated doctor could speak a little english to someone in distress.
However the whole incident has left a bitter taste, I got no chance to explain what the emergency was and I worry now about what will happen to me if I fall seriously ill in the night.
The next day I was told by another Brit who lives in Torremolinos that he had taken his girlfriend there in an emergency and explained to the medical staff in Spanish what the problem was and apparently after telling the doctor that his girlfriend was going to move to Spain shortly he was told that when she resided in Torremolinos permanently that she would be refused treatment if she hadn't learned enough spanish to describe her symptoms herself!!!
Yes they are right to be aggrieved by foreigners using their emergency services but I thought the EHIC paid for the treatment anyway
I felt humiliated and abused, especially by the receptionist who kept banging the desk
Horrible!!!!
I hope this posting will be a warning to all Brits that
IF YOU CANT SPEAK SPANISH, TRY AT LEAST TO LEARN, ONE DAY YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT

[Jool]

Part of the reason is they are liable if the mis-translate a symptom and speaking english is not a requirement to be a doctor or nurse in spain and ther is no reason why it should be. I would suggest you get a good translator on board so that if you need him or her you can call them 24 hours a day and know you will be understood health wise. What happened to you is not acceptable but I have been a patient in spanish hospitals and seen so many english shouting and swearing and being aggressive to spanish staff who simply cannot understand them but are actually doing their best to help but of course the brits don´t understand that as they don´t understand enough spanish!!

You do need some spanish to get the most out of living here. There are online courses so there´s no excuse and there is a specialist medical dictionary giving you all the phrases and medical terms for just this eventuality - you´re right your life could depend on it. You need to familiarise yourself beforehand as under stress its easy to forget.

[El Cid]

While not wishing to condone their unhelpful attitude I just wonder how far you would get in the UK if you turned up in the emergency department of a UK hospital as a Spaniard without a word of English.

No doubt a grasp of Hindi, Gujarati or Punjabi would be OK.

Sid

[katy]

I do think if there was a need for a certain language in the UK it would be provided. Not like here where they rely on unpaid volunteers. I don't understand why other European languages are not available as there is lots of pots of money available for these sort of projects from the EC.

Jool is right, why should a Doctor be expected to provide other languages as part of their skills...and then get sued if something was mis-understood. I have met my Doctor socially and he speaks fairly good English, never in the surgery though.

[costapacket]

laswalkirias

It might be worth you looking at this website http://www.helicopterossanitarios.com/e ... embership/

They guarantee english speaking staff for any kind of medical problem. As far as I know you can join annually for a resident or I think they do some deal for a month - not totally sure about that.

They operate on the Costa del Sol.

[Marina]

I have encountered this sort of attitude in my local hospital. I did not expect anyone to speak English, just to have the patience to allow me to speak Spanish slowly enough to think about what I was saying. Most of the staff were polite but the attitude of one person was arrogant and uncaring and reduced me to tears! We were treated very differently from Spanish families. It is ignorance and there is no excuse for it especially within what is supposed to be a caring profession!
Compassion is compassion in any language, when someone is worried about a seriously ill person.

[pirate]

This sounds awful, but I must say one of the things I find that spoils a day at the coast is that the attitude towards us brits is not very friendly, it`s probably because they see the worst of us brits there, who knows. Does anybody else notice this?

My inland medical treatment up to now has been first class and the doctor even tries with a dictionary when we get stuck.

[katy]

So, are you saying that is an excuse

My Husband stopped doing Voluntary work at the Costa Del Sol Hospital because of the attitudes of some staff. Some are superb but many suffer from an acute case of xenafobia. When my Husband was in Carlos Haya I was uncomfortable that he was refered to as the "extranjero" in any conversation between staff.

[pirate]

Simply an observation, I dont condone bad attitudes towards anyone

[Paula]

IMHO it's despicable to be treated like that in the Hospital. What has not knowing the language got to do with it. How many holiday makers would know any Spanish, let alone be fluent enough to describe syptoms etc etc.
How many Brits living in Spain with a decent grasp of the language would be fluent enough to deal with an emergency situation.
Its one thing being totally unhelpful in a shop or the Town Hall, but the Hospital is an entirely different matter. Its the sort of thing that makes me mad about this Country.
Welcome to Spain Laswalkirias, not quite the Utopia you were hoping for, take the advice about Helicopteros Sanitarios, they are excellent and will give you some peace of mind. Until they drop you off and leave you at Torremolinos Hospital anyway.

[Jool]

It certainly sounds a lot worse on the CDS in terms of negative attitude towards british. I found many doctors and nurses over our way very worried about the lack of spanish (and in some cases lack of good translators) for british patients as they said they felt their treatment was potentially compromised or they did not get all the information they could as a result of it. However all staff are generally very helpful and patient, bar one awful doctor who refused to speak in english at all even for very technical terms once, then spoke in fluent english as soon as I took a translator with me for my very next appointment!!! He was a total **** all round though and a lousy doctor. I now refuse to have anything to do with him, and when I´ve mentioned him to other doctors their reaction has shown I am certainly not the only patient to feel this way!!!

Although the decree of rights and responsibilities says patients have the right to be treated in their own language in reality there is also an official edict that does not allow doctors in Andalucia to treat patients in any language other than spanish as the NH insurance does not cover liability due to lack of accurate translation or understanding of patient´s symptoms. Its a catch 22.........but do try the medical dictionary as it has pronounciation of the phrases in as well and is a great help for all those words you would never need other than when in hospital.......

[Don]

I have to say that there is a bit of a twist here. The patient was not the one requiring attention in Urgencias but it seems "only" a representative. I recall one Sunday afternoon when I needed Urgencias and I got, as he was the most readily available driver, a Brit colleague to "get me there quick". I checked myself in and after a few minutes waiting in increasing pain, I passed out on the waiting room floor. All I remember is being "transported" by arms and trolley through swing doors and with my Brit colleagues in attendance I had a debate with the doc in my terrible Spanish that I did actually know what was wrong (after a previous visit to A&E in UK) and I NEEDED antibiotics now, nothing more or less. Suffice to say I eventually had to sign a release form and downed the antibiotics about 0,25 seconds after being given them. 36 hours later I was fine although some may dispute this still.

Moral - can you expect hospital Urgencias to deal with an absent patient ? Sorry but no. Can you expect Urgencias to prescribe something for a patient only represented by some foreigner (no offence intended here, please note). You do need a little local language to get treatment or help in Urgencias in Spain and probably any other country.

For the record, that was a spider bite.

[laswalkirias]

Don I take your point about not expecting much help being offered to a "representative of another patient" however as the total conversation in the emergency room consisted of a rant in Spanish by the receptionist as I asked to speak to a doctor and as there was no discussion at all about my "emergency" how would they have known it was on behalf of someone else.
I know the onus is on me to speak Spanish in Spain but to be shouted at and browbeaten in what could in future be a "life and death situation" is very worrying. It was made very obvious to me that I wasn't welcome there and I felt that I was viewed by the receptionist and doctors as scum!!!
If I collapse on the street will I be refused any help at tall in Torremolinos emergencia because I cant speak fluent Spanish. I expect people in Malaga city not to understand or speak Spanish but Torrie is a tourist resort where every shop assistant or waitress makes an effort, yet no help seems to be available in a hospital
The reason for posting this story is to warn potential expats that learning to speak basic Spanish is not optional and I have learned the hard way that my laziness in coming over to Spain without studying the language is not only arrogant but dangerous!!!!!!

[bunty]

In the first place I do admire the Health System here and how everything works ... but.A few years ago I had trouble with an eye,hardly seeing with it etc.Twice I was seen by a specialist but at no time did they look at my eye to see what was causing the problem..I was just given a reading test.Well my Spanish is nearly fluent so there was no language barrier involved.... I just had the feeling that because I am British they didn't really want to bother with me!!!!!!!!I ended up going private and was told it was a cataract and paid to have this operation.Well a few weeks ago my husband,who is Spanish ,went to have his eye examined by the same specialist. They dilated his pupil etc and said he needs to have a cataract removed.The op will be in just over a month or so!!!!!!!!!!!!
His eye is nowhere nearly as bad as mine was and I just have the feeling that I was let down somehow.If I had know what the problem was maybe I could have insisted in having it examined ... but I had no idea.

[Don]

......If I collapse on the street will I be refused any help at tall in Torremolinos emergencia because I cant speak fluent Spanish. ...

I cant know what happens in Torremolinos but from experience here in Sevilla, a colleague was knocked down on the street and an ambulance just happened to be round the corner. They took him to Urgencias and treated him pronto without even knowing who he was. I understand it is in the Spanish constitution that anybody will be treated in an emergency without question. Sounds like you have a bad bunch at Torremolinos.

[Bongtrees]

I have twice seen British people ejected from urgencias in the largest state hospital in Valencia and each time I directed them to a private hospital with urgencias a few minutes away.

In Valencia it is against the law to speak to patients in any language other than Spanish or Valenciano.

Ignorance and shoddy treatment is rife and in my opinion getting worse but not just in Spain, I have family and friends with horror stories regarding NHS treatment in the UK.

There will be people who will want to say how marvelous it is here or in the UK but will they for one moment give a thought to those who have been made to suffer because next time it might be them.

[Miro]

but Torrie is a tourist resort where every shop assistant or waitress makes an effort.....

Huh? You'd think, but in all the years I've been here, I've rarely encountered a Spanish shop assistant or waitress who knows how to say hello in English. There was a young girl in Opencor who tried, but became too embarrassed to persevere.....

The only experience I've had of the emergency room in Torrie was when I took an elderly lady there late at night after she fell and bloodied her nose. She was examined briefly, but then told she should have an x-ray just to be sure everythng was OK. But, at night, they have no x-ray facilities, and we were told to go to Malaga. No ambulance service, we had to take a taxi there and back.

On one occasion I had to call for an ambulance, because I couldn't move to get to the emergency room myself. I was treated on the spot, no problem. Later, my GP ordered some x-rays, which I had at the Torremolinos clinic in question here. I had to go back 3 times before the GP was happy with the pictures!

Bunty, an elderly friend of mine needed urgent treatment for a cataract related issue, and got an earlier appointment at the Hospital Maritimo (Torremolinos) than his private medical plan could offer, so it seems to very much depend on pot luck. Sometimes the system comes up trumps, others, you end up feeling let down.

I think the same is true of the NHS in the UK. It has it's good points and bad. From what I can make out, the Spanish system is no better and no worse. One thing is for certain, and that is that it's not perfect, so good advice here to be as prepared as possible for the unexpected.

Just a point on the original post - I'm surprised that the farmacia didn't just sell the necessary medication without a prescription. I thought you could get pretty much anything over the counter. Maybe only if you can show something to prove that you've previously been prescribed said medicine?

[crazyred]

I'm afraid I have had far worse treatment from doctors & hospitals in the UK.
When my son had to go to the CDS hospital 2 years ago with a genetic blood condition that we didn't know he had, (although looking back there were symptoms at birth and the UK doctors did not do the tests!!) we were treated fantastically. We were not referred to as 'extranjeros', even though back then our Spanish was not as good as it is now, although it wouldn't have bothered me if they had as, that is exactly what we are after all. The staff in UK hospitals will refer to people with names far worse than that. When I asked if the doctor could write the name of the condition down so that I could look it up on the internet to understand it better, she explained it to me in perfect English which I was very grateful for. I don't know why anyone would expect a Spanish university educated doctor to speak English unless they had an interest in languages. Would anyone expect to go to an Italian, French or Greek hospital and be dealt with in English? All the basic phrase books have a medical section in them and if you have a pre-existing condition when you go abroad I think you should arm yourself with any necessary terminology you might need in your destination country's language. Like laswalkirias said, it may just save your life.

Just because many of us Brits have decided to make Spain our home doesn't mean that we should expect them to feel grateful that we are here and learn OUR language, even if we do pay taxes. We chose to come here so should make an effort.

I'm sorry for anyone who has been treated badly and unfortunately, most of those who don't speak Spanish are being tarred with the same brush as those obnoxious Basil Fawlty types who think that shouting in English will make a Spaniard understand what they are saying.

There are good and bad in every country and every profession. I can remember our doctor's receptionist as a child in the UK was an absolute dragon. My Mum used to give her wine & chocolates at christmas just to make sure we could get appointments within a week!!!

[pigs-might-fly]

I have had excellent treatment at Hospital Costa del Sol. Two cataracts removed very professionally and the pre and after-care was absolutely first class.
Many of the staff could speak English - not just the doctors but the medical technicians an nurses, too.

[Miro]

I don't know why anyone would expect a Spanish university educated doctor to speak English unless they had an interest in languages. Would anyone expect to go to an Italian, French or Greek hospital and be dealt with in English?

Well, probably, yes.
I absolutely agree that we are totally wrong, and indeed arrogant, to expect English to be understood and spoken to a reasonable level wherever we go, but the fact is that Spain is just about the only country in Europe where you can't have a perfectly intelligent conversation with an average 12 year old in English. I think the government has acknowledged as much, and the opposition even pledged to ensure all school kids will be able to speak English within 10 years if they come to power. Not much chance of that, IMHO, so long as Spaniards still believe that Spanish is the most important and widely spoken language in the world.
Anyway, the fact remains that some of this country's most highly educated people either can't or won't speak English, and it does kind of make you wonder why so many of us a) still choose to come and live here, and b) don't bother to learn at least some basic Spanish to get us through emergencies.