Broken arm France and Spain
 

Hi there

We leave for our five week trip to France and Spain tomorrow. Our four year old broke her arm last week. We have been given medical clearance to travel, she has a special cast safe for the flight etc. Our travel insurance will cover all and any expenses associated with the arm, so cost is not an issue.

My question is, in France and Spain, if we need to get it looked at, would we normally just attend a children's hospital. Do they separate it like this? We're in Paris, Loire, and Provence and later in Barcelona, Madrid, Granada. Any general tips in accessing this type of care? Where I'm from there are hospitals I would take my kid to and hospitals I wouldn't, so just trying to work it out, just in case, before we go.

Thank you

mostly I think that you would go to A&E, but your hotel/s will probably be able to recommend the nearest appropriate place should you need it.

The hospitals in those places will undoubtedly have children's departments, but not necessarily dedicated children's hospitals. We tend not to separate those sorts of facilities into adult and children - a broken bone is a broken bone after all.

As you have insurance, they may recommend a local paediatrician instead of a hospital; that might be a better bet than a hospital where you might have to spend a while in A&E before they decide which department you need.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

Sorry to read this Wombat.

Don't worry about hospitals in Europe - we are pretty proud of our level of medicine. France and Spain are ok - in case of problems ask a pharmacist to recommend a doctor - they will know one local (who speaks english).
In case of emergency, go to the nearest hospital. We have sometimes hospitals only for kids, but mostly hospitals have a pediatric section.
Did yhey give you a speay 'anti-scratching' ? it works wonders.

<i> Broken arm France and Spain
Posted by: Wombats on Mar 20, 16 at 6:23pm</i>

Suggest that you ask your insurance company before you leave if any French or Spanish bills for services will need to be translated into English. If so must the translation be made by a certified translator and duly stamped.

You need to be sure to take her medical records, including any x-rays, with you on the trip since any MD you would visit would probably want to see them. Also have the contact info for her MD with you.

Poor little girl. Wish her speedy recovery.

On the brighter side, you could always use her cast to take notes or write directions during your trip.

The local pharmacy in any French town can guide you to the proper doctor, but if the cast has to be changed, that would most likely be in a hospital.

Paris has two dedicated children's hospitals -- Necker in the 7th and Robert Debré in the 19th.

Sorry to hear about this little wombat's broken paw! But she will surely have a fabulous trip, as everyone will spoil her rotten. You have already received sound advice from the others, so I just wanted to send best wishes for good healing "from marsupial to marsupial".

Sorry to hear this. Just take her to any local clinic or hospital and she will be well taken care of. If your insurance will cover any costs (which will be minimal, probably 23 euros), ask for a feuille de soin and take it home with you.

Reminds me of the story when my son broke his leg two days before we started to Spain. Had to rent a wheelchair, take it on the plane and push him through the steep streets of Toledo.

For care during your trip, you have three options:

- general hospitals with chirugical/orthopedical departments,
- children hospitals with chirugical/orthopedical departments,
- a practising orthopaedic surgeon within a medical center or in an independent office.

The hospitals have the advantage that they are open seven days a week (for emergencies), but they are rather bureaucratic and a simple check and treatment may require the better part of a day (waiting - getting registered - waiting - seeing a doctor - waiting - x-ray - waiting - seeing a doctor again - waiting - getting a new cast - waiting - check-out).

An practising orthopaedic surgeon usually works faster, but has limited office hours and it is advisable that you have an appointment (on the phone).

For finding specialists, google for the next larger town near your destination (e.g. in Provence Avignon or Nîmes):

In France: "médecin orthopédiste" or "chirurgie orthopédique"

In Spain: "traumatologo"

For Barcelona, I stumbled upon a list of orthopedic surgeons who are specialized in children ("Traumatología infantil"):

http://www.topdoctors.es/barcelona-c...logia-infantil

I don't think you'd have to do all the research and planning yourselves. It is hard to imagine a hard-hearted hotel receptionist who would not feel pity for a cute little girl with a broken arm! The receptionists know their city and speak the language, they will be able to find you a doctor or hospital quickly if you need one, and make an appointment for you.

In case of a real emergency, like the kid falling again and hurting herself again: The EU-wide number for ambulances, emergency doctors (and also the fire brigade) is 112. In that case I'd grab the nearest phone or ask someone around to do so, and call an ambulance immediately, instead of running or driving around for ages with a child in pain to find a hospital.

Thank you

Thank you so much everyone! As always such useful advice, most appreciated.

We'll be making a few adjustments on the fly to our plans, things like using hop on hop off buses instead of our planned walk through Paris, but as our little Wombat is in no pain, we still plan to have a great time.

We leave in 8 hours. I'll be sure to report back :-)