Stoma and moving abroad

jeanybeany

My husband and I would like to move to Spain for a couple of years but I have a Stoma and am worried that I cannot get my supply of Convatec pouches and mouldable flanges out there. Can anyone tell me if I can still apply for these here whilst living out in Spain. Please can anyone help me with my enquiry.

seven-day-weekend

Hi there. If you are living permanently in Spain, you will have to have your Healthcare from the Spanish Health Service (not the British NHS).

If you are in receipt of State Pension or Incapacity benefit (Or, I think, either type of ESA), you can ask the DWP in England for a form S1 that will entitle you and your dependents to free Healthcare under the Spanish system.

If you are younger than this,but have worked for the last few years in the UK, you can still be covered for around two years.

The only other way to gert covered for Spanish healthcare is to work and pay into their system. Otherwise you will have to take out private medical insurance.

HOWEVER.... I have read recently that a law has been passed that says that ALL SPanish residents, of whatever nationality, can receive free healthcare, but I do not know whether this law has come into play yet.

It might be a good idea to ask the British Embassy http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-embassy/contact-us/

As to the specific items you mention, I have no personal knowledge but I'm sure there would be something similar in Spain.

Hope this helps.

zzzLazyDaisy

You are right to be wary of moving without first checking this out.

Arrangements for stoma supplies vary tremendously from country to country - we are very fortunate in UK that they are supplied on NHS, because if you have to buy them yourself (as is the case in some countries) it can work out horrendously expensive.

But even if they are supplied free under whatever health scheme is available in Spain (assuming you qualify for it) there is no guarantee at all that your own convatec supplies will be available.

Do you intend to move out to Spain for the two years - as in being resident there? Or will you be maintaining a home here, and spending long periods in Spain? The reason I ask is that if you will still be a UK resident but spending time abroad (similar to a student gap year, for example) then some stoma suppliers will obtain your prescription for you here and forward the supplies to you. They don't all offer this service, and they won't do it if you have made a permanent move abroad as you would need to continue to qualify for UK prescriptions to get this service.

The first people top speak to are convatec. They will be able to tell you if they supply to Spain, and if so, what the arrangements are.

I'd suggest that you take as many supplies as you can with you. For practical purposes it is probably only really possible to take around three months supply with you, because they are bulky and heavy, so would take up a large chunk of your luggage allowance on the plane - on this point it is worth asking the airline, as I know that Thomas Cook give an extra 5 kilo allowance on hold luggage free, if you are carrying medical supplies - although personally I would choose an airline with a more generous hand luggage allowance (TC is only 5kg) as you would want to take as much as possible by hand luggage (you'd be stuffed if all your supplies were in your hold luggage and your suitcase went missing).

It might also be worth doing an internet search for a Spanish ex-pat forum, as it is possible that someone might be able to find out some information about the service available for ostomists out there.

Personally, as an ostomist myself, I would not consider moving abroad permanently (and therefore giving up my habitual residence in UK) without first experiencing what it is like to live for a few months in the country, and work out how I would manage these issues - because I know from being abroad on longer stays with friends in the past how much the ostomy service can vary and how lucky we are here in UK with the service and support we get under NHS. However I have never spent more than two weeks at a time in Spain, so I have no knowledge of the arrangements there, and everything might be as good, or better than here.

Good luck in your adventure!

Dx

Edit - re private medical insurance - you can get BUPA International, but they won't cover you for pre-existing conditions (including your stoma) but in any case, this only covers consultations/treatment etc but not medication or appliances such as stoma supplies. I don't know if all private medical insurance is the same, but it seems likely.