indiebird

oh!!!! Well they are a pain!! I will never utter those particular words again. sorry in advance Lorna!!

TestaRossa

Indie bird - if you google the British consul in Torino you should, hopefully, bring up a list of English speaking medics for all kinds of things - you can for here and Rome, so I'm going to assume Turin will do the same. If the British consul doesn't have a list try the US consul site instead. You will also find that a good number of them will be able to give you a receipt to pass on to your health insurance people too. HTH.

Patty

indiebird - you're in Piemonte like me I've just been to the consultorio famigliare and it was good - better than the gynie visit I had at the hospital. It was free as well. So I would try and see where your local one is.
Maybe go to your comune and find someone who can help you with these things - the lady in my comune is really helpful.
Dont worry though - it'll all work out in the end - its just finding your feet and getting to know where everything is and how the heck it all works
I wasnt given a pediatrician for my youngest when we came and he was only 5 - its never been a problem though - he's always been to the family doctor and like you - he's hardly ever been and she commented on how little she has seen of him !

Lorna at Vicenza

I don't understand this.

Who told you you needed a permesso di soggiorno 18 months ago?
Who issued it?
The comune never used to do this. One always had to go through the Questura.

Have a look at you paper tessera sanitaria. Does it have a "codice individuale" on the front of it? This is like a national health number. My doctor is computerised now and this number is connected to my name. Even if I go there without my health card this number comes out on any prescriptions or impegnativa that she prints for me.

Have a look at the paper tessera and see if it has a validity date on it.

A paper tessera is perfectly okay to use if it has not yet been subsituted for a plastic one. If you have this and are indeed part of the system then nobody should be asking for anything extra like codice fiscale and English papers/cards.

Does your tessera also have a little box on it to say which ULSS and which distretto you come under.

If you type that into google then you should get the web page for your own ULSS and from there you should be able to find info on the smear test programme and other useful numbers.

indiebird

Patty wherabouts are you?? Do you know of other people around and about?? I am going to go to the commune and ask. They are normally pretty helpful to be honest, it is just trying to explain stuff and some people seem scared before I even open my mouth!!

Lorna, we were told orig. that we didn't need PdS to start with and then going to the Anagraffe they said that we did and tried to direct us to the Questura in Turin. We queried this (well my hubbies work collegue did) and then they had to look into it for about 3 weeks. They then issued one. When I went to the ASL they said that it wasn't a 'proper' PdS so they would only give us a tessera on a year by year basis so I need to go back in a few months to renew!! I need to dig out the tessera di sanaterias but I think they do have a codice individuale on them. I also needed to give my doc the codice fiscale the 1st time too. To book an ent appointment the woman would not accept the tessera and she wasn;t going to accept the health card that I was brandishing, but in the end she did, thank goodness!! I found it all a bit flummoxing to be honest and now try to avoid the health system as everyone tells me something different!!

indiebird

ahem, I just googled the Consoltorio Familiare and it is in the next road!! How stupid do I feel now!!??

Lorna at Vicenza

Well how were you supposed to know. It probably doesn't have a massive plaque outside the door - and even if it did would you have known before today that it was a kind of family planning clinic.

You might have thought it was marriage guidance. Actually - I do think relationship counselling might even be part of the consultorio's services.

indiebird

I have seen a sign but I had no idea that it was a family plannig clinic I thought it was a baby clinic as the sign says 'consoltorio sanitario e pediatrico e familiare' or something like that I believe!! Can you just wander in as my phone skills are not up to much??

Patty

indiebird - i am on the other side of Turin - near Pinerolo. I dont know anyone around your way but I bet you'll find someone soon I work for a school and so I met all the other English people through work - maybe see if any there are any schools near you ???

Lorna at Vicenza

Just walk in. Don't make any apologies or say anything silly like "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to be here and I'm not sure if my tessera sanitaria works here". That will just give them ideas and make them think that they might have to check all your documents.

Walk in and say - "good day - I'd like to make an appointment with a gyno please."

indiebird

yeah, i've learned the 'plead ignorance' approach the hard way Lorna. Thanks a lotxxxxxx

37100

If you're husband is paying tax here you are treated the same as an Italian. Yearly tessere sanitarie are issued for domiciles i.e. students and seasonal workers who don't apply for residency so maybe yours was a temp. one because you residency hadn't come through?
San Maurizio isn't very big so I doubt that the consultorio opens full time. The gyno will probably only come a few hours a week. Locals on this side of Turin are fairly reserved and usually have most of their family in the vicinity but once they get over the initial shock of coming across a foreigner and by foreigner I mean anyone who comes from 'outside, you'll find them quite willing to help. You'll have to ask though, they rarely offer.

indiebird

Reserved is an understatment surely Rosalind!! I think that the ASL hadn't caught up with the fact that we are all part of the EU. I did try and explain to them but after much umming and ahhing they decided that we need to go back on a yearly basis, but then dd's plastic card has come through the post and I am confused and not sure I want to attempt the ASL 'take a ticket and pretend you're at the deli-counter' approach just yet. can you tell I'm feeling a bit jaded at the moment?? Maybe if I present myself at the consoltorio familiare then I can find out when the gyno will be there. I get the feeling it is a kinda drop in clinic for bits and pieces so will go and find out next week.

37100

Just a bit of an understatement! Anyway, we must meet up when I get back from the u.k. and explain things for you if needed and I'm always up to giving public officials an earbashing. I'll drop you a mail. You only need the paper medical card. When our card first arrived I took it to our G.P and she just laughed. My card arrived almost a year before my o.h's and sons'. Do you have a codice fiscale? Only asking because you can't get a card without one. Venaria was under the same asl as you until last year but it is now part of Rivoli. Only the bigger ulss' are grouped into asl so things differ slightly as where you go to get what but you never need a to be referred for a gyno check-up although some ulss's insist on a pap test first. A g.p. can give you a referral if you need anything urgent but most women just turn up at the hospital or consulrorio- A midwife is usually available when the consultorio is open.
The ticket approach might seem a bit deli-counter but it's an improvement on the sharpest elbow one.
The mothers at the school gate might seem a bit hostile but do try asking for help. The will usually. Don't try to 'fit in'. It a waste of effort. You'll always be the Inglesina and they'll come round to you in the end.

Lorna at Vicenza

So right.

I used to really hate all the queue jumping and old bags that would blatantly move to another queue if they thought it was going down faster and pretend they'd been there all the time.

Sometimes when I said "excuse me I think it's my turn next" they'd feign ignorance and other times they'd want to start a fight about it.

The best time was when Chloe was smaller and in a loud voice said "mummy - that lady was behind us before and now she is in front of us. Is that what you call pushing in?"

In an even louder voice than hers I said, "yes it is darling and it is extremely rude, very annoying and very bad manners. People are supposed to be patient and wait their turn but some people think they can just shove and push."

Thumbs up to the post office clerk that heard us and told the old bag to wait her turn properly.

The post office now has a number system.