Given the press stories recently about the poor state of the NHS, it’s easy to imagine that the grass is greener everywhere else in Europe, with no waiting times in A&E, lots of state of the art hospitals and professional staff. But is this really the case? EHIC cover is valid across all of the countries of the EEA and Switzerland, and it’s safe to say there are some countries where you get better healthcare than others.
The Best
The Commonwealth Fund is an independent organise which aims to promote health care systems which are high-performing, efficient and cater for everyone, not just people who can afford pricey health insurance. When preparing their rankings, they look at expenditure per person on healthcare, timeliness of care, and whether care is safe and effective. The UK consistently scores highly in their ratings, and next in terms of quality is Switzerland, which does best of all for prompt treatment. Sweden and Germany also have excellent state healthcare systems, and although they might not be free at the point of care as the NHS is, costs are affordable and will be kept to a minimum if you use your EHIC card. Other European countries which are part of the EHIC system and which score highly for the quality of their healthcare are the Netherlands, Norway and France. Interestingly, another report by a different think tank rated the UK at the bottom of the pile when it came to healthcare provision in Europe, so as with all studies and surveys, use the results as a general indication to quality rather than an absolute truth.
The Not So Good
A separate organisation, Health Powerhouse, looked at similar performance indicators to pull together their Health Consumer Index, giving a total of 1000 points for 48 different factors. Unsurprisingly, it’s the less developed European countries which score poorly in their table, with Poland and Romania at the bottom of the list. Polish and Romanian healthcare is not poor across the board; should you need to be admitted to hospital in Warsaw or Budapest, you’ll find modern hospitals which are well-resourced. The issue is mainly that healthcare is patchy across the country, and in rural areas standards may be significantly lower. If you are planning a holiday or business trip to Eastern Europe it may not be wise to rely solely on EHIC cover for state healthcare. Private travel insurance will cover the cost of treatment in a private clinic in most instances, where care and facilities may be better than in state hospitals.
Our Advice
Check out the healthcare system in the country you are visiting, especially if you are travelling with children or people with underlying medical issues. There is lots of information online about both the quality of healthcare and navigating your way around the system. Check your EHIC has not expired, and remember to take cards for all the family away with you – you’ll need to show it, and your passport, to access state treatment.