The good auld Spanish Social system

[curlytop]

I have a British friend who is currently living in Barcelona having lived and worked in Gran Canaria and Tenerife for a number of years.
Unfortunately he has to have a fairly urgent operation and has been informed by Doctors at the hospital that because he has paid into the social system in the Canaries, he can only have his operation in the Canaries!
Surely the Spanish Social system is the SPANISH Social system and since the Canaries are part of SPAIN he should be able to get treatment in ANY Spanish hospital?
Can anyone on here advise of this strange rule? :doh:

[casabonny]

I have a British friend who is currently living in Barcelona having lived and worked in Gran Canaria and Tenerife for a number of years.
Unfortunately he has to have a fairly urgent operation and has been informed by Doctors at the hospital that because he has paid into the social system in the Canaries, he can only have his operation in the Canaries!
Surely the Spanish Social system is the SPANISH Social system and since the Canaries are part of SPAIN he should be able to get treatment in ANY Spanish hospital?


No apparently not.We are an autonomus region and are only entitiled to treatment here BUT we are eligable to emergency treatment in the mainland provided you can provide a Tarjeta Sanitaria Europea ( ie the card you would get for travelling to the UK for example )
They will treat you as an emergency with that but as the social payments made here STAY here I supppose they are quite right to refuse.I know that this is the case as family friend regularly visits the mainland for extended holidays and needed not only her social card but the Tarjeta Europa too for treatment late last year.