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Have you ever had cause to use your GHIC while abroad?

Posted by DarthScabies@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 25 comments

What was it for and how was the treatment? Just had to use mine and I'm glad I always carry it.

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25 Comments

mellonians@reddit

For my baby in Romania. Reminder - having worked in travel insurance, it is not a replacement for insurance. Furthermore, having the GHIC is usually a requirement of the insurance. Our boy has some kind of breathing problems so we were there a couple of weeks longer than expected as he couldn't fly back. The GHIC picked up the hospital bill, the insurance covered our cab fares to and from the hospital, a gorgeous duplex flat for us to stay in and all our meals etc. Insurance also picked up the bill for the nicer things at hospital.
View on Reddit #87007056

Thalamic_Cub@reddit

The GHIC being required for some insurance is a new thing to me, pants.
View on Reddit #87021815

mellonians@reddit

Yeah. Travel insurance policies are amongst the easiest to read the policy documents for too. The principle being you have to do your best to mitigate the company's loss. If you have one they won't have to pay out as much so it's free for them to just make it a requirement. .
View on Reddit #87022805

Shrinking_Violent@reddit

Yes.  Broke my ankle in Fuerteventura last year.  Went to a tiny hospital in the middle of the night and was given the most excellent care.  Got there at 4:45am and was back in my bed with a cast on my leg by 6:30am, including a stop at the 24-hour pharmacy for painkillers.
View on Reddit #87013780

SmileAndLaughrica@reddit

Yes but just in case it is not obvious to anyone (it was not obvious to me) GHIC is not the same as insurance and you may need to pay part of your hospital bill 😅 I hit my head in Spain and paid €700 for emergency care because I didn’t have the card on me, and applied for a refund thru the NHS and only got refunded about €400. I think it was specifically that I got a brain scan that was the bit that wasn’t covered annoyingly.
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DarthScabies@reddit (OP)

Yep. I have insurance for when we travel. Mine was for emergency blood tests and GP visits so it was covered by the card thankfully. Only had to pay for the medication.
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Floral-Prancer@reddit

Concussion in the French alps, which covered the scan and all the tests.
View on Reddit #87010673

Deep_Top8433@reddit

Yep. Testicular infection in Spain. Went to the urgent treatment centre and walked out of the farmacia two hours later with my antibiotics. Gosh the doctor was grumpy though.
View on Reddit #87007862

thatbloke83@reddit

Had to use it with my then 5-month old baby on New Year's day in Spain. He ended up needing to stay for 4 nights with oxygen assistance but the care was most excellent and there was zero faff. He's fine now
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DarthScabies@reddit (OP)

Glad he's okay now. That must've been terrifying.
View on Reddit #87005539

thatbloke83@reddit

Twas a bit scary but soon as they got the oxygen tubes up his nose he was fine (except for when he kept trying to pull them out 😅). They diagnosed him with Laryngitis and then Bronchiolitis - he was unable to keep his blood oxygen level up unassisted. Overnight on the 4th night they turned it off to see if he'd be fine without it (with monitoring still!) and the little guy did great and was able to be discharged the following day and enjoy the rest of the time there with the Spanish half of his family
View on Reddit #87006080

DarthScabies@reddit (OP)

Sounds like a little fighter.
View on Reddit #87006774

gander8622@reddit

My son split his chin open when a kid jumped on his head when they jumped in the pool.  When he arrived at the medical centre we showed them the card and that was it really. So glad we had it.
View on Reddit #87006378

DesperateWelder9464@reddit

Norway, 3 month hospitalisation. Without GHIC it would be a million pounds for sure, with GHIC it was free
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DarthScabies@reddit (OP)

Holy shit. Can I ask what it was, or would that doxx you?
View on Reddit #87005570

Koda614@reddit

I've used the older EHIC in Greece, and while the card did it's job and funded the 'treatment', there aren't words in the dictionary that would truly get across just how awful the experience of a Greek hospital was. This was nothing to do with the fact that I was a foreign tourist with a EHIC but the general standard they were treating all their patients. I ended up going down the private route to get me fit enough to fly back to the UK. Standards were still lower than a basic UK NHS Hospital when paying privately in Greece but I at least no longer felt like I was probably going to die in there which was good. On the final day when I left the hospital I met Paul of the Chuckle brothers in the car park. He apparently had a holiday home nearby. We shared horror stories of the Greek healthcare system - Apparently my experience was better than most!
View on Reddit #87004730

Cielo11@reddit

Accident while cycling in Rhodes Island. Had my own helmet on, but it was Race bike style so was doing nearly 30mph when it happened. Skull fracture, traumatic diffuse brain bleed then brain swelling. They were preparing to put me in under to stop the swelling. But I somehow became me again 7 days after crash and my brain started to recover on its own, I was a zombie before that. Somehow it survived without disability, brain damage etc. How was the treatment? No idea don't remember. My mum said the Hospital wasn't clean, and they leave the family to do a lot of the looking after of the patient. CT Scanners didn't work in the Hospital. Good thing was they had a Neurosurgical Unit, Neurology Doctors and it cost nothing. Id always make sure you have cover or Insurance when abroad!
View on Reddit #87004692

Spiritual_Smell4744@reddit

Yes, my wife came down with flu in Spain. We had to request an emergency certificate online as I'd not thought about them. The whole process basically was - give them the printout. Excellent service. Much better than NHS coverage I have to say.
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TheRealVinosity@reddit

Yes; in France. The treatment was excellent!
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the_real_deal_feel@reddit

En français, s'il vous plaît.
View on Reddit #87004275

PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

SVP.
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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

My partner had to use hers in Australia when she was hospitalised with a respiratory issue. The hospital actually tried to invoice her for things which the GHIC covers in Australia and because she was having difficulty breathing I had to call the hospital and tell them to, politely, shove it.
View on Reddit #87003237

FaithlessnessTall951@reddit

Stuff like that always reminds me how quickly a normal day can turn into an emergency. Glad you had it with you because most people never think they’ll actually need it until they do.
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DarthScabies@reddit (OP)

It's always in my cardholder. Thankfully.
View on Reddit #87002950

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