Swift words of advice needed (as always). Internet connection as questionable as always. I would search, but it takes up to 10 minues to load a page so I have cut and pasted this.
We have been so busy matriculating the car, getting NIE, empadroniamento etc that we have not yet got around to health cover. We have been here 34 days, and my back has gone -I have a disc problem. In the UK I would simply go to a chiropractor or osteopath but they are few and far between here in Galicia. We do have our EHICs and although we will be getting insurance, we believe we need to register at the local medical centre. Can we do this? Is it too late?

If it is an emergency, go to the local hospital and they will treat you.

If you have paid your stamps up for the last couple of years you could of got forms from the DWP to cover you here for a couple of years, phone them and ask.

With your EHIC card they will give you 2 jabs in the b*m - one for pain and one muscle relaxant. This will be free and will solve the problem for a week at least.

I too have disc problems and used this approach recently to get instant relief.

After a major accident last year I too needed a osteopath. But the local hospital in Monforte had a waiting list for 9 months. So paid for it privately. I do not know if the waiting list is for all of Galicia or just local to my area of Galicia.
Hope you find a solution.

Thanks all for your helpful advice. I keep telling SWMBO that all these things get sorted in time, but it really is a great help to a newcomer. So thanks once again.

You will need to use your EHIC as a tourist, the registration procedure takes too long for your emergency, paying privately is an alternative. Unfortunately, the EHIC doesn't allow for much follow-on treatment, because you're only here on holiday.

Do you know if the cover for a couple of years includes free prescriptions? We have also recently arrived, and my husband is Type 2 diabetic, so has many tablets monthly.

I don`t think they are free unless you are retired, although if they are prescribed by the doctor here, then they will be cheaper than over the counter for sure.

Does not include free prescriptions but as stated the tablets (in our case certainly) have been cheaper.

you can buy many pills over the counter without prescription in Spain, so ask at the pharmacy first

are you registered with a doc ? if they write you a prescription they wont be free but they will be much much cheaper

Thank you for the replies. No, we aren't yet registered with a doctor. We had to buy one lot of my husbands tablets from a chemist and the cost was 37 euros for a months supply. I dread to think how much per month this will be if we have to purchase them all every month.

You should really get your Padrons (local resident cert) from the local council office and your Residence certificates from the local police station as soon as possible.
Take these and your forms from the DWP to your local social security office and they will issue you a paper (tarjeta de Afiliacion) to take to your local clinic to sign on with a doctor asap.
They will send your social health cards on later