Pilou

Hi,
Again and again we are thinking about a private insurance. But the inconvenience is that a private insurance wants to make money and will try not to reimburse you because it was pre-existing or you are longer abroad than 60 days.
When I read about the quality of the SNS, I read the portuguese public health care is one of the best in the EU.
But, when I talk to expats with a private insurance they tell me it is worse than eastern Europe or developping countries. Only young doctors without experience work in the public hospitals .....
What is your experience?
Thanks!!

Diddion

mfesharne

I've been in Portugal for a little over 8 years & in that time, various friends & I have received NHS care here for everything from diabetes to pneumonia to cancer to dialysis to heart surgery to hysterectomy & every single one of us has been immensely impressed with all aspects of that care except perhaps for the food but the food criticism could probably be said of most hospitals anywhere.

I should in fairness add that all of us are in the central zone so none have experience in any of the other areas.

mfesharne

I should perhaps have added that my better half had several decades experience of cardio thoracic operating theatres etc including working as part of the team that pioneered various heart surgeries on unborn infants & newly born babies & has several surgical procedures named after so she she's nobodies fool & recognises good from bad medical care & even she is pretty impressed with the NHS car here.

Ingles

Luckily in all the years I have been here ,I have only had to seek medical help twice
Both for the same finger ,honestly , middle finger left had, cut it nearly off on my saw bench.
Ambulance "blue & two's" to Leiria Hospital :- put it back together ,service 100%
Last year ,same finger , bitten by my dog , turned gangrenous ,Leiria Hospital again , service 100%
I know these are just small problems, but I have more insight than most Expats, as I am a volunteer for our local
Transport Ambulance Service & have been for many years, the health system here in my humble opinion is good value for the amount off monies it receives.

AlgarveAndy

I have exactly the same concerns regarding the miss match of expat views and the independent reports and indeed that pessimistic view was almost universal amongst my extended family before I came out here. I'm not in favour of private medical insurance as in my experience (with my mother) I think they prey on the worries and vulnerabilities of the elderly.

liveaboard

We have private insurance; I don't think they prey on anyone. They provide health care.
Do they recommend excessive tests [that seems to be the big fear]? No, they do not.
And I'd rather have too many tests than too few.

Down here in the Algarve, the health service is severely overburdened and underfunded. Some people get the care they need, others don't.
Much depends on if the specialist you require has too much work; orthopedics is notoriously bad.

My OH has a rare disease. she is alive thanks to us having private health insurance.
It has a cash limit but if we hit that then the public hospital is there for us too.

I think if you can afford it, take out private health care.
We do without a lot of things due to budget. We pay for the health insurance though.

I suggest talking to your local pharmacist; they meet the patients and hear all the stories, but are not invested in either system.

AlgarveAndy

Hi sorry I wasn't meaning to offend anyone,perhaps I should have been more specific in that my 'experience' comment was directed at the steep ramp up of premiums in the UK as people age. The vulnerability and fear aspect I view as rather like playing the lottery with regular numbers and becoming hooked in because your afraid they will come up when you don't buy a ticket.

Sunseeker1st

In 2013 I had breast cancer op at Portimao (Barlevento) Hospital then followup Radiotherapy in Faro at Private Clinic, refused Chemo . Had checkups at six weeks, 6 months then yearly. Discharged this year.

In 2014 I had Total Hip Replacement at Portimao Hospital after falling and cleanly breaking the neck of my femur. Had 18 followup Physio sessions.

In 2016 Husband had Neck Tumor removed in Lisbon. Radiotherapy in Faro.

All of the above on SNS. No complaints whatsoever... except food!

In March 2018 I had Total Knee Replacement and in March this year Revision Hip Replacement, again due to fall (I have Osteoporosis). These were done privately in Alvor by choice and paid for by us. We have been here 18 years and never had health insurance but put the cost of premiums by monthly and therefore able to pay privately ourselves.

I have a Continente card which I use at the private HPA hospitals/clinics and get discounts for my many consultancies and blood tests. There are no discounts for hospitalisations. I also use the card for Dental work at the Clinic in AlgarveShopping.

https://www.planosaudewells.pt/

liveaboard

That hasn't happened with our private PT health insurance; in 10 years, the premiums only rise with inflation [I think].
Once they accept you, it seems you're in at that price unless you opt out.

I don't know if this is due to law or company policy.
We have used it a lot.
Private insurance won't cover preexisting conditions [defined as previously diagnosed, if it wasn't medically determined then it didn't happen].
Public health care will.
As a Portuguese resident you have a right to public health cover, and your public health insurance number allows discounted prescriptions even when they're issued by a private doctor or clinic.
the discounts vary, but for some conditions the savings are significant.

Score76

Having tripped over a shoe lace and busted my knee open on a rock yesterday in the garden we ventured off, somewhat sceptical, to Portimao hospital. All in all the experience was entirely comparable to what you could expect from an NHS A&E. I was done and dusted in 3 hours which included booking in, triage, being seen by a doctor who spoke much better English than my Portuguese, anesthetic, clean up, stitches and a referral letter to my local Centro de Saude to have the wound cleaned, checked and redressed every 2 days for the next 10 before the stitches are removed. The doctor was kind, took her time to explain, answered all my questions, even chatted to distract while she injected the anesthetic. No complaints at all, even the 16€ charge was reasonable.

Pilou

Hi,
hope you are ok today without too much pain.
Wow, I am really impressed. Only 3 hours, that won't happen in Spain and France. There you need to wait maybe 6 to 8 hours.
I am happy to read your very positive experience with the Portimao Hospital.
Thanks!

Pilou

Thank you all for taking your time to put your experiences here.
Important for me and I am sure for toher expats too, because a lot of expats are in doubt wether to take private insurance or not.

planky

I've had 2 awful experiences with my family doctor at the local Centro de Saude - arrogant, he was just processing me - he was practically ushering me out within 30 seconds of entering his room. He was one hour late because he was in the cafeteria having a coffee. I am thinking that Liveaboard's comments make sense - even if you have to do without other things.

Lynn R

I live in the Axarquia region of Andalucia, and your statement in no way matches my experience. In May, having experienced severe pain in his side over a weekend, my husband went online to book an appointment with his GP at 9.00 am on a Monday morning. He got an appointment at 11.50 the same morning, and after examining him the doctor gave him a note to take to Urgencias at our local hospital. We took a taxi there and arrived at 12.10pm. He was booked in immediately (nobody waiting at Reception) and directed to Triage, where we waited for 5 minutes before being seen. After being triaged we went through to the main waiting room (which was very busy) and waited for 20 minutes before his number came up on screen. Went in to see the doctor who examined him and ordered blood tests, an ECG and a chest X-ray. As we left the doctor's office his name was called for all of those tests, so he had the blood taken and ECG done right away then was accompanied to the X-ray department by a nurse. After waiting for 10 minutes in X-ray that was done, we then returned to the main waiting room where we waited for a further 25 minutes. He was then called in to see the doctor again, who by this time had the all the results on screen, including the blood test results. He prescribed medication and told my husband to go back to see his GP for a check-up in a week's time, after he had finished the course. After leaving the doctor's office a nurse removed the cannula put in for the blood to be taken, and we then left the hospital and took a taxi home, arriving back at 2.30 pm so the whole thing including the GP consultation and the journey to and from the hospital had taken less than 2 and a half hours.

Previously I had accompanied a friend and her young daughter to the same Urgencias Department when the child had a fall and broke her arm. She was triaged immediately, subsequently seen by the doctor, sent for X-rays then had the arm put in a cast and X-rayed again to check the alignment, which all took under 2 hours.