Anyone Had To Visit A Spanish Hospital ?

[alavahalf]

What a fiasco .. arrived in tenerife last thursday and immediately developed flu/cold. The following day I walked a very short distance to sit on the beach.
I then heard and felt a pop in my ankle. Thinking I'd been shot I collapsed onto the pavement with excruciating pain in my ankle.unable to walk or even bare weight, I got rescued and taken to the other side of the island to the Hospital.
The very nice taxi driver more or less carried me into reception and went to put me down in a wheelchair .. the manager in reception stopped him and demanded I pay €200 before I sat down.
The fun began .. she questioned if my credit limit would cover the costs of examinations and possible xrays. I said if it's €200 to sit down , then I'm not exactly sure. Not having a sense of humor and being at their mercy, I told her that I could cover any costs incurred.
She actualy smiled when I showed her I had sought advice from my travel insurance provider. (Who had issued a claim No.)
The doctor I seen insisted I have blood samples and an xray. The nurse who tried to take blood had pushed the intraveenous needle through my vein and out the other side. There was blood on me, even more on her and enough on the floor to suggest a lamb had been slaughtered. The needle connectors ended up on the floor 4 times and at this stage she still didn't have and for the vials. Eventually after 20 mins she actually massaged the blood out of my hand by squeezing the vein and drip by drip, she filled 2 vials.
Now feeling quite dizzy and nauseus with the pain in my ankle .. lo and behold I was wheled off to xray .. now thinking I was geting something for my money, I was asked to remove my shirt for a ... chest xray ?
Not having the same degree of spanish vocabulary as she had I tried to point out that my ankle was the problem .. not my chest. She then showed be her instructions from the doctor. Sure enough I had a big cross on my chest in the notes.Returning to the doctor he said I have hreat news " you do not have a DVT" .. Having lost any faith and wishing to gey out of there, he insisted I have some intravenous pain killer. Sstrangely enough this went very well and I then slept for 13 hours.
Before I left they took another €300 parting gift and suggested I return if I had any problems. He didn't quite understand my reply about a €200 seat and hell freezing over.
Having spent another €25 on a prescription and also buying a walking stick. I cant wait to get back to the good old NHS. Before I returrn I might just go sit in the beach bar at the end of the street. It's too hot to sit in the sun !
In amongst this I am sure we have the makings of a comedy.
The morale of the story is dont go without travel insurance.

[-SharonA-]

Pity the NHS is not like this with all these foreigners coming in for treatment!