# Help! I'm in the UK with bad health considering moving to Spain...



## nicola3460 (Jan 15, 2015)

Dear Expats.

I'm 54 and suffering from something called Haemolytic auto-immune disorder which means I'm getting treatment (steroids) from the NHS and ongoing tests. We've now got to the position that the NHS are saying they can only 'manage' the illness rather than fix it completely. That said, whenever I have an extended holiday of more than 3 weeks my blood tests improve hugely. My husband and I are therefore considering moving to Spain for the lifestyle change and so I don't work so hard!!

We've read up on the various requirements (he'll be 65 by the time we anticipate moving in 2 years time) and according to the NHS website if Dave is retired then he'll receive an S1 which also covers me. 

I'm going to make some phone calls to various authorities in the UK over the following weeks/months to get their views too.

We're nervous of making a leap and finding I won't be able to get the healthcare without it costing us a fortune. We can support ourselves financially but not if it means huge medical costs. However, at the beginning of our research (as we are now) we feel a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place as staying in the UK is not helping my health! 

I thought this forum might be a good place to get general feedback on "if you were in my shoes would you consier moving to Spain"? I am the sort to get everything checked out etc but think it might be beneficial to get a feet on the ground view.

Sorry if I've rambled!

Thanks in advance.
Nicola


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Hello Nicola.
If you husband will be receiving his State Pension when you move here you will not have any issue regarding medical as this will be covered by his card.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Depends
Are you hospitalised much due to your illness ?
How much help do you need, if any?
You would get excellent treatment in Spain, but there are other factors to take into account.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

nicola3460 said:


> Dear Expats.
> 
> I'm 54 and suffering from something called Haemolytic auto-immune disorder which means I'm getting treatment (steroids) from the NHS and ongoing tests. We've now got to the position that the NHS are saying they can only 'manage' the illness rather than fix it completely. That said, whenever I have an extended holiday of more than 3 weeks my blood tests improve hugely. My husband and I are therefore considering moving to Spain for the lifestyle change and so I don't work so hard!!
> 
> ...


You're absolutely right to do a lot of research before you come IMHO. I can't tell you much about the ins and outs of pensioner health care cover, but I can tell you that most people (of course not everyone) are very happy with the health care they receive here and you will find threads about it.
Don't forget to look at other aspects of life before making a decision though, like considering if you will miss family and friends, if you'll be able to cope in a totally new environment, the type of housing you'd be able to afford etc etc


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## nicola3460 (Jan 15, 2015)

VFR said:


> Hello Nicola.
> If you husband will be receiving his State Pension when you move here you will not have any issue regarding medical as this will be covered by his card.


That's what I thought, though I couldn't quite believe it. Thank you very much for confirming this.


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## nicola3460 (Jan 15, 2015)

extranjero said:


> Depends
> Are you hospitalised much due to your illness ?
> How much help do you need, if any?
> You would get excellent treatment in Spain, but there are other factors to take into account.


Hi, 
Thanks for your reply. I'm not hospitalised at all (thank goodness). The illness means there are weeks, sometimes months, where I can't do much i.e. walking around a town or exerting myself but I'm still able to do straight forward stuff like housework (unfortunately!!). My husband is also on hand to help with things like shopping. Therefore no external help needed. Good to hear that we'd get excellent treatment, that really helps.

I think you're very right to highlight there will be other factors, we're at the beginning of our journey to find out all the facts and already I've got file of emails beginning to build! However hearing about it from you already out in Spain is valuable and helps with our confidence so thank-you. 

Nicola


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## nicola3460 (Jan 15, 2015)

Pesky Wesky said:


> You're absolutely right to do a lot of research before you come IMHO. I can't tell you much about the ins and outs of pensioner health care cover, but I can tell you that most people (of course not everyone) are very happy with the health care they receive here and you will find threads about it.
> Don't forget to look at other aspects of life before making a decision though, like considering if you will miss family and friends, if you'll be able to cope in a totally new environment, the type of housing you'd be able to afford etc etc


Dear Pesky!

Thanks for your reply. We're currently looking into what we could afford for a home, we'll be renting as don't want to sell our house in the UK as need that as a safety net in case we do need to return quickly.

As for friends, weirdly our close ones have all moved away over the last few years - must have been something we said!!! Our family are quite scattered but we do have family close by and this is indeed something we are considering. We hope that we're quite adaptable and flexible, we've had some major challenges to overcome in the last few years so we're quite tough. We're quite good at making friends and like interacting with the locals, so hopefully that will help too. 

Nicola x


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

If this is an idea that's occurred to you only recently rather than a long-held aim, then I imagine that you haven't yet learnt Spanish. If that's the case, and in circumstances where you will be regularly in contact with the health care system, I would recommend that you choose somewhere where there is likely to be English spoken in the clinics, i.e. massive expat community.

There are plenty of private health practises where English is spoken but once into the state's system you may find that many of the people you would have to deal with speak very little English. I live in an area with lots of expats and have had to use the emergency facilities. Both the receptionist and nurse on duty at the weekend didn't speak English. At the local clinic for the follow-up visits there was one receptionist who spoke a little English but again, the nurse didn't.

Just something to consider as it's times when dealing with the state's systems that frustration and difficulties happen due to language issues.




nicola3460 said:


> Hi,
> Thanks for your reply. I'm not hospitalised at all (thank goodness). The illness means there are weeks, sometimes months, where I can't do much i.e. walking around a town or exerting myself but I'm still able to do straight forward stuff like housework (unfortunately!!). My husband is also on hand to help with things like shopping. Therefore no external help needed. Good to hear that we'd get excellent treatment, that really helps.
> 
> I think you're very right to highlight there will be other factors, we're at the beginning of our journey to find out all the facts and already I've got file of emails beginning to build! However hearing about it from you already out in Spain is valuable and helps with our confidence so thank-you.
> ...


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