Your child injures their foot on the beach, you or your partner fall ill - they need to see a doctor but neither you nor anyone else in the family speaks the local language. So what do you do if you have a health problem while abroad?
Start by calling your insurance company's 24-hour medical emergency number for advice, including help with language problems.
You need to do this first, in any case, because otherwise you may not be able to reclaim the cost of any treatment.
Your insurer may even arrange to pay directly for treatment, rather than reimburse you later.
Don't forget to keep the receipts for anything you have to pay for, so you can claim the money back.
If you have an E111 form for the person requiring treatment, you'll get free or reduced-cost treatment. The E111 is valid in most countries in Europe but covers only what residents of that country receive in emergency care, not necessarily what you would receive under the NHS - so you may have to pay for ambulances, for example. The form would not pay for the patient to be flown home, either. An air ambulance could cost thousands of pounds, which is why travel insurance is essential.
Source: Travel feature in Good Housekeeping, August 2005
