Pilou

Ok, a relief more or less.
When the 3 eye operations would be urgent and one could loose the sight forever if not done immediately, what would the private sector do??
For example a detachment of the retina needs action immediately.

Red Eric

One was urgent in terms of reducing the possibility of long term damage / loss of sight and what happened was that the private ophthalmologist scheduled her in for a surgery performed by him in a private hospital.

I don't know what would have happened had we not had the funds to pay for that. We don't have health insurance, so we paid the full price ourselves.

liveaboard

the public system, like most public health services, will bump you to the front of the list in an emergency.
However, there can be a waiting list for emergencies too.
A friend of mine nearly lost his foot waiting for weeks for urgent orthopedic surgery after a work accident.
The same person got prompt high tech cancer treatment, he was very happy with that.
Past tense I'm afraid. It was Pancreatic.
Public health service is variable. Some sectors are very over worked.
The private health sector is also variable; the waiting lists are far shorter and they pay a little more to attract the talent.
But the private hospitals are much smaller and don't have some of the resources that the public hospitals have, like big oncology [radiation machines, bone marrow transplant teams] and 24 hour emergency trauma teams.
,

Ukkram

I read a report I think it was from MyPortugal or BlevensFranks that Ireland has a 16 month waiting period for specialists and the uk has 6 months. Portugal has a phenomenal 9 weeks.
Portugal was the first country in the world to use radio surgery for cancer radically decreasing treatment duration and fine targeting of tumours.
Now why run elsewhere for health treatment?

Pilou

In that case I would also chose to pay for private help. I think it is wise to have a budget to pay for private help when there is no private insurance.

peterfc

Because some people think money buys better treatment.

Peter

ouriquejan

I had a lump on the inside of my eyelid.

Saw my doc, she said you need to go to Faro. Or a private clinic.

Went to the eye clinic in Faro, was told there was a 2 year wait for an appointment. But the receptionist told me to go to urgencia and explain.

Did that and was seen the following week.

The week after that, the lump was cut out by the most brilliant surgeon. He even gave me his mobile phone number, in case of problems.

The level of care was superb.

there are ways to get around things, you just have to ask

Cherrypop

I've posted previously about my right to health care as friends have recently been refused the right to register at our local health centre in the Algarve. I was concerned I'd have to rely on private care, not something I'm in a position to afford.

Following the help I got on here, I passed on the information I was given and they returned to the centre to have another go. They stood their ground and were registered there and then. I'll be sorting out my residency in the next few weeks and will be going to the health centre to register - I won't be leaving until I've done so.

Red Eric

Ouch!

There's a fuller explanation than that in some cases, though, as liveaboard explained above. Reducing the assessment of a complete public health service to an average number of weeks for a specialist consultation doesn't take into account the fact that it's divided into regions and within those, into the various specialities. Any of either can run into difficulties if overstretched, underfunded, not well managed, whatever.

Generally, I give a very big thumbs up to the public health service in our area and to the national health service in general. I think it does a fantastic job and you won't find a stauncher supporter of public services nor a firmer opponent of the incursion of private sector involvement.

However, when my health centre GP - who, incidentally, shares my unreasonable views on the matter of private healthcare - tells me on any given occasion that I will not be served well by the public system and very reluctantly but strongly advises me to seek consultations or treatment from private providers, I'm definitely not going to argue with her. Apart from anything else, she's bigger than me

Pilou

That was what my GP told me: with this type of skin cancer and a waiting period of more than 1 year, the only solution is to go private. I will need surgery and because this type of cancer is not life threatening, this needs to be done in the private sector. Private insurance: worthless, when all related to skin cancer is excluded!!

When they discover melanome, one of the most dangerous types of cancer, I suppose the public sector will help me further, once the diagnose is made in the private sector.

Pilou

Today I heard that someone has broken his arm. Went to urgencias and he was told that he can have an operation in 2/3 month time. It will grow automatically together and when he comes back, they will break the arm again and put it together.
This man had no private insurance and went to the private hospital to get a quick operation. He needed to pay EUR 6000.

This chocks me a bit. I don't know the prices for operations, but EUR 6000 is a lot of money.
I don't know what to think now ........ ????????

Red Eric

It sounds the most unlikely of tales to me. If you get taken to urgencias with a broken limb it'll get dealt with there and then.

There must be a little more to it than that.

liveaboard

The story rings true to me, it's just what happened to a friend of mine with his foot [I think I related that earlier in this thread].
Orthopedics is an area where the public system is extremely underfunded and overworked.

Pilou

I hope it is not true! Friends who arrived to sign a contract for a house, heard this on the plane to Faro.
So I really hope something like this won't happen in Portugal. Also the EUR 6000 for fixing a broken arm is a lot of money ........

Pilou

Those stories are really really good for the private health insurance sector. People who hear this, will take a private insurance immediately.