• Make a Donation
  • Ask For Advice

Primary care for Non -Residents: A Smoke-Screen

Posted in: Maria's Blog, News Articles,
Author: Maria Cecilia Tacchi
Tags:
2 Comments

I know many of you must have seen the news that the “government” is giving non-documented individuals access to primary care medicine.

I will now tell you why this will NOT work:

+ They will not have a card: no card, no access to specialists. this takes us to my second point:

+ This has already been happening, many physicians objected to this and continued to see their patients in the primary care setting, but what has happened in the past?

Here we have an example:

A patient without residency WAS treated in primary care, but guess what?

Primary care does not have the resources to treat many diseases, and that is how, in the XXI century, a man died from tuberculosis in Spain.

The story is horrid, he was sent from primary care to the A&E many times, there he was first rejected, then made to sign a “compromiso de pago” (even though it was A&E, For crying out loud!!! the law says it is FREE)
When he signed the ‘compromiso’, he was seen, but he had not any TB tests done.

He died, of a completely curable disease, in Europe, in the XXI century.

This is so bad I am seething as I write.

So you see, any person without a residency status can be seen in primary care now, according to darling PP. BUT this changes nothing. there is NO access to the hospital, where most of the tests are done.
Primary care is very limited in what they are ALLOWED to do or treat.
They cannot treat serious infectious diseases, they cannot treat stroke, and so on.

And remember, undocumented people are not just “extracomunitari” (great Italian word meaning outside of the EU), there are many EU citizens that fly under the radar. Bottom line: if you don’t have a residencia, you are for all means and purposes, an undocumented alien. Not undocumented because you don’t have you home country’s ID, but because you are breaking the law by living here for more than 180 days and not becoming a resident.

I am so so angry because I can see that this is done for the election!

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.

How Can Citizens Advice Bureau Spain Benefit You?

As an expatriate living in Spain; do you find that the Spanish bureaucratic system can be disconcerting? Have you discovered that the simplest of transactions are difficult to conclude? Find yourself searching for answers to problems only to discover that there is nowhere where you could find a solution? I am assuming that the answer is yes and that is why should be a member of our web site if you arent already.