Registering with the local health centre can prove to be somewhat of a mission if my own experience is anything to go by. Forget a simple 10 minute process but instead allow a few hours as, like everything else in Spain, you will be subjected to lengthy queues. My aim was to register with the surgery based at Arroyo de la Miel and my first impression of the place was of how large it was compared to the small GP practices back in England. As well as an accident and emergency entrance, you will notice signs on doors indicating X-rays in progress as well as rooms allocated specifically for consultants. It therefore feels more like a mini hospital and has no way of creating an intimate, friendly atmosphere. As you approach the entrance you will hear the noisy chatter emanating from within before you even put a foot inside. This is merely a prelude to the huge number of people you will find inside, collectively waiting impatiently to see one of the receptionists on duty.

So, having inwardly groaned at the swarming crowds, I joined one of the queues to wait my turn in order to register and this is where the fun begins. After whiling away the time rehearsing what Spanish I was going to recite I finally reached the desk after 30 odd minutes only to be told that I was in fact in the wrong queue to register. In the absence of any signs indicating where you should in fact place yourself for the appropriate service, I had no choice but to rejoin another lengthy queue and attempt to amuse myself by watching everyone else alternately tap their feet or shift from one leg to another as we all waited interminably for an end to the queue. After reaching the correct desk this time after about 40 minutes and having explained my purpose, my paperwork was examined and I was then informed that it was not possible to action. Further discussion ensued whilst I attempted to explain that yes it was indeed possible because the appropriate form had been endorsed by the Social Seguridad office in Fuengirola. After much scurrying back and forth with different colleagues and various phone calls later, I was then advised that yes of course it could be dealt with and I was then issued with a registration form. All this just to obtain a form had taken well over two hours. By this stage, I had had enough and decided to return home to finish the form off and come back another day at a different time with the hope that it would be less busy, as the thought of completing it and having to requeue was simply more than I could bear.

For anyone wanting to register with the doctors, I would recommend taking along every single piece of documentation relating to your identity that you possess. They may well ask you for your passport, your NIE number, your social security card and residencia card. In the absence of any of these documents you may find yourself in difficulty as I discovered first hand. Without a social security card, residencia card and NIE number you will find accessing any institution a chore and will need to explain your status in Spain. At times, it felt more like an interrogation in a police cell rather than what should have been a simple case of registering my details. Initially you will be asked for your social security card which is all well and good if you have one. This is the card issued by the Social Seguridad office if you are in the system or a pensioner. If you are claiming medical cover through an E106 form however, you will not be issued one and will have to show your completed E106 form instead. Expect this to be met with utter incomprehension as they try to figure out what to do with it. When someone eventually realises that it is indeed a valid document entitling you to health care, you will be told that you have to present a copy to your doctor every time you have an appointment. I assume that this is to claim their costs back but why they need a new copy every time is beyond me, perhaps its just good old fashioned bureaucracy alive and kicking.

However, once the registration process is completed you will be allocated to a doctor who will have their own individual consulting room. In the case of this centre, there are over 20 doctors on site spreading over 2 floors as well as the outpatient clinic. When you see your doctor, instead of there being a receptionist to call out your name or a digital screen advising you of when to enter, the only way you know when it is your turn is to ask the people around you what number are they. This is because your number is denoted by the time given on your appointment card. If your Spanish is not up too much, you will need to make your appointment when there are interpreters present. These generous people willingly give up their time for a few hours each morning in order to help non residents out and it is a very welcome service indeed. However your may find that some doctors do not want interpreters present but then question you as to why you haven’t learnt sufficient Spanish!

On a personal front, I received little help or advice from the first doctor I saw regarding my pregnancy so this actually prompted me to go private for my antenatal checkups. Everything I had encountered up to that point with the health centre had given me extreme misgivings and had not imbued me with confidence. However, on the birth of my baby, the treatment I received there from the male midwife and the care my baby received from the paediatrician could not have been better which just goes to show how different an experience can be when you are treated nicely. Then, just when we were getting used to their own peculiarities, they suddenly decided that my baby should in fact be receiving his checkups and vaccinations with the surgery in Benalmadena Costa. Why they hadn’t realised this initially when he was registered there under my health care is beyond me but still, what do you do but go along with their requests. So of course we were then expecting to have to go through the lengthy registration process all over again. Much to our surprise though, the health centre there could not have been more different. Not only was it far more modern and spacious, but there were no ridiculous queues to suffer and the whole matter was dealt with in a matter of minutes. In a peculiar way I think it was good to have experienced the Arroyo surgery as it made me really appreciate the good service at the Benalmadena centre as well as correcting my original perception of medical centres over here.

Fiona Kirkpatrick