If you are a UK citizen you are eligible to claim back up to 80% of the costs for any selective surgery that you might want to undergo in Spain.
Although you are most certainly in possession of the European Health Insurance Card (E111), this card would only cover you for emergency treatments,. It would not cover the costs for any elective surgery that you might want to have done in any country of the European Economic Area, including Switzerland.
There are two possible routes to claim some refunds from the NHS. One would be the direct funding arrangement between the NHS and the state healthcare provider in the country of your choice. But this would mean that you would have to be operated in a NHS hospital here in Spain. You might not only be faced with a long waiting list, but also encounter some communication problems due to a possible language barrier.
The other option would be to pay the costs of your treatment abroad upfront and then claim eligible costs from the NHS. This would give you the option to receive treatment by a private surgeon of your choice and have the procedure performed in a private hospital. The typical surgical procedure eligible for funding are elective surgeries with a long waiting list in the UK, like total hip and knee replacement.
It is important though that you can proof that you are a UK citizen, either by rental contract agreements, phone bills or similar.
Our team would be more than happy to help you with the paperwork.
Please keep in mind that the above mentioned funding scheme might not be available anymore once the ‘Brexit’ has gone through.
For any further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.