chrisjolly

Had a sad situation to deal with yesterday as one of our villagers fell badly down some steps outside a bar in the square. He was unconscious and bleeding badly from the back of his head. None of the local bars had a First Aid kit but at least someone phoned for an ambulance. Someone else ran to the local medical center but unfortunately the doctor refused to attend to him. The ambulance took 45 minutes and during that time my wife, an Irish friend and myself made sure he was comfortable, in the recovery position and had a pulse.
It has certainly made us realise how important First Aid is and having the number of an ambulance in your phone.
He was taken to Malaga hospital and as yet we do not know how he is.

dmu

Good for you!
French Doctors don't normally leave their surgeries for an accident, either....
Call 112 for ALL Emergencies all over Europe. I've never needed to use the service, but apparently there are English-speaking operators.
Important emergency numbers in Spain | About Spain | Expatica Spain
also gives the numbers of the Spanish Emergency Services and a few sentences in Spanish if necessary, if the operator doesn't speak English.
Once again, well done for your prompt action!

avocados

A bit naive, aren't you!! Of course they had a first aid kit. they just didn't want it used on someonethey don't know and don't care about.

Spaniards would quite happily let non-family persons bleedout on the street.

They have a look the other way attitude.

bxpuser24710519

Gladly this was not the case when I tripped on a step in the centre of Sevilla. A woman I had never met ran to my help, got me a chair from a nearby barbers who brought me a wet towel and tended me till my husband was called by them using my phone. They also called my intercambio who came to get me. I knew none of these people and am eternally grateful for their help.

chrisjolly

A bit naive??? The somebody you mention has lived in the village all his life and is a local gardener so a well known character. They did care about him but no one knew what to do as most of them were in a state of shock and one woman was even wailing on the seat close by. Sorry but you are writing without any knowledge at all about me or our locals. Seems like you have a bit of an unhealthy attitude...keep your comments to yourself if thats all you can add!

Rosemary

I can only speak about my own experiences of Spanish people and must say that I believe that the opposite is true. They are very caring and considerate people who react in a positive manner no matter whether they know the person or not.

As for looking the other way I have found that they are too curious to do that. Especially when something such as that incident occurs because they want to be able to tell other people about it.

Rosemary

Alectryon

I have had a couple of 'incidents' in my village, related to my diabetes - hypoglycemic attacks. Once my dog who I was walking escaped from me whilst I was in the throes of the attack. A car pulled up, four young men got out, 2 went looking for my dog, the other two put me in their car and 'phoned for the doctor who arrived in 5 minutes, gave me some glucose and I recovered, the two other young men came back with my dog, loaded me and her into the car and took me to my home, sat me down and made sure I was alright before continuing on their way to a festival. I live in a very small village and everyone knows me and where I live. People around here are so kind and considerate.

Rosemary

Your story to my way of thinking is a typical reaction of Spanish people. Granted you live in a small village so maybe if it had happened in a city it might have been a totally different experience.

Saying that I was in Valencia once and an English man was walking along and felt odd so his friends told him to sit down on a chair in the restaurant area. The waiter came to take their order and was told of the situation, he left, returned with water for the man and said that he had rung for an ambulance because he thought that the man might be having a heart attack.

Rosemary

Tadd1966

What a load of tosh

missile

Always best to be prepared. As others have said 112 is the emergency number for all EU countries.

I make a point of knowing where the nearest emergency medical centre is. Google is your friend.

PS: I think you are being unreasonable to expect a doctor to leave the medical centre to attend. In the UK, a doctor would not normally do that.