hales

Due to the language problem. It has been suggested that my wife should return to the UK for treatment. This would mean that both of us would need to go. Currently we both have treatment for other ailments on a regular basis. I don't know whether we could get these in the UK or would have to return to Germany for them. Should our German medical insurance pay the bills? How long can we stay in the UK before we have to register our car etc?

scot47

Language problems ? I would have thought these should be easily overcome either by getting a German doctor who speaks English or by taking along an interpreter. Seems easier - and cheaper - than going to the Uk for treatment which you will NOT get under the NHS !

hales

It is a German doctor who speaks good English that says we should get an English doctor. Maybe it is because we need a Psychologist. I have also been advised that if I get a Form S2 from the German authorities, they will pay for treatment.

jamesshaffer

I was going to give you the same advise - find a doctor who speaks English before I read the previous comment. I think that your doctor might really have good reasons to recommend you going to England to receive better treatment. Though I think that all these trips are rather stressful, your doctor definitely knows better. Please let us know if the S2 form really covers it all. Good luck!

hales

Thanks for that James. We will not be going to get a Form 52 after all. The authorities have found a English speaker at the local Uni who deals with these matters. Unfortunately we will have to wait until April before the sessions can start. Just shows how many people are suffering from this complaint.

koalabear1

Hope it goes well for your wife.

I've never needed a psychologist, so it's a little different as my issues were possibly less reliant on spoken interaction, but I have had my fair share of medical treatment in Germany and although I speak fluent German, when I don't feel well I prefer English and have found that it varies a lot whether a doctor can / will speak it.

Some doctors seemed to think my German was fine so claimed they couldn't speak English (unlikely to be the case), while others clearly loved the chance to practise their language skills and offered to be my GP haha.

I think an interpreter would be a good idea. I actually interpreted once for a colleague at a psychologist's appointment. It's not ideal, but neither is travelling to the UK for treatment when living in Germany.

notathome

Good luck with the treatment. We helped an English friend through a difficult time, the German doctors were excellent.

glemo

Like you my German is very good and still many German MD's still wanted to practice / show off their English. Also with 16 years I only knew ( and still do, even though I've been in the US for over 12 years ) many terms only in German.
However in this case as in general there may be liability issues in play, or as overall liability medmalprac has increased.

Also all the very best with the treatment.