My spouse took an ambulance ride in Porto after he fainted and coshed his head. We did not have the option to go to a private hospital, only a public one. His care was great (he was there for a day and a half in the ER under observation, plus a ton of tests. I’m surprised you didn’t get more info from your doctor on your illness and medication(s). The public hospital doc kept us up to speed on on everything the spouse had done to him and we were handed a full report with all the deets upon discharge. As you say, hospitals do vary in how they handle things.
Hopefully this is your last experience with the ER for the near future.
It was definitely a weekend to remember. The public hospital was very, very busy, but we never felt like my husband was just being shunted through. The stunner, at least for an American, was when we went to pay the bill.
Initially the clerk said 40eu, even though we had indicated we had insurance. Then he apologized and said he’d made a mistake. At this point I’m mentally doing math on the spouse’s treatments (neurological, cardio workup, audiological, bloodwork, CT scan, MRI, 36 hrs in ER, etc etc) and the clerk announces, “No charge.” Because my spouse was brought in via ambulance and considered an emergency. Blew us away.
Since then every time we do a large purchase with a hefty tax charge, I smile. We’re just payin’ it back, a little bit at a time.
I’m so glad you’re feeling better Amy! It must have been disorienting on top of being sick to have care that was difficult to navigate and understand. Big hug! Thank you for sharing this - it’s helping me out together our emergency plans. We went to our GP this week who has been to Portugal (and for some reason hated the food - said she was hungry most of the time and spent a good portion of my appointment advising me to bring hot sauce with me because the food is so bland - haha 😂). Because of our severe allergies I am getting us medical bracelets in Portuguese and laminating it as cards too (Doug is allergic to Penicillin and sulfa drugs) so that we have clear communication in an emergency. She gave me prophylactic prescriptions in case of emergencies too. Anyway, I appreciate you sharing with us and hope you never have to return to write a second review!
As for crazy chains, other than McD's, Burger King and Dunkin, Dollar General has become a disease. Every town, even the small ones have them. Bigger town, like Windam, have 2, as well as Dallar Tree and Family Dollar.
We don't have dollar stores here in general. We do have a type of store called the Chinese stores or Loja Chinese. They carry everything. By everything I mean everything. Clothing, plates, cookware, hardware, sewing items, cleaning supplies, purses, it just keeps going. Each one's a little different. But it's nuts. Quality isn't the best, but if you need something it's there.
Hi Amy, We are also in Lisbon and have gone to Cufe Tejo when my husband did the thing we always tell our kids not to do and the cotton from a q tip broke off in his ear canal. They took us right away. He was triaged, then looked at by the ER Doc and then straight up to the emergency ENT. Who confirmed the q tip was inside, removed it, cleaned out the wax that was bothering him in the first place and we were in and out in less than an hour. The bill with our private insurance was under 70 euros. I don’t recall exactly, but they emailed Michael the bill. His Internist is at Cufe and we have been really impressed with all the services there. We also had a crazy good experience with a public hospital up in Monsão, when my husband was fishing and he got a puncture from a piece of rusty metal in the river. That’s another story but also, surprisingly positive. I hope you guys never have another emergency, but I’d definitely recommend Cufe Tejo if you do. I was interested in Serenity as I am the worrier in the relationship but we haven’t made the move. Many people have sung their praises, however! Hope you are well!
What great information! Thank you! CUF Tejo it's surprisingly hard for us to get to. Luz is straight up the blue line and we are close to a blue line and it's right off. So we've been trying to stick there just because it's easy. But I don't know.
Yikes, Amy! Just getting to read this as the school year begins and my free time dwindles, and I am so glad to hear you are feeling better! Hopefully you never have your own ambulance stories!
We had no complaints about our ambulance experience. Mark was in a car accident and hit his head - which meant the paramedics wanted to take him in, even though he seemed okay other than the ugly knot on his forehead. He also got a yellow bracelet once we arrived at the public hospital.
I’m surprised by your difficulty scheduling appointments with your GP. Even if you call, you can’t get in sooner than 7-10 days out? I haven’t tried with a GP yet, but our private dentist was able to get Lily in for a same-day appointment.
There's literally no phone number to call. Before I gave in I did everything you can imagine to try to get a phone number. Or an email. Now when I talk to a doctor I asked if they have email or phone number. If it's in a hospital like Luz the answer is always No. I am finding that doctors who have an office not in the hospital are easier to reach. So I'm starting to search there for my practitioners.
Broke my shoulder when we were living in Olhão, mid pandemic. The ambulance team was great.
At SNS Faro, the wait time was reasonable (I arrived around midnight on a Saturday and was home around 5) and the care, while perfunctory, was competent.
What has stayed with me was the sound of the multiple elderly, disoriented, clearly in discomfort and/or pain, patients who were left on gurneys in the hallway outside our waiting area for hours without any attention.
While I honestly believe the SNS staff was doing the best they could during a difficult time, I hope I'm never in the same situation.
I used to work in a facility for older people. Generally when people are left in certain regions, always, by nursing stations, it is so staff can keep an eye on them. That does not make their distress any easier to bear.
And I've been on a gurney for hours (10AM-6PM) in a hallway in the ER in a hospital in Boston, waiting for a surgeon to be available to perform an appendectomy. I was well attended to and given that there wasn't a room available, was grateful for the care.
My spouse took an ambulance ride in Porto after he fainted and coshed his head. We did not have the option to go to a private hospital, only a public one. His care was great (he was there for a day and a half in the ER under observation, plus a ton of tests. I’m surprised you didn’t get more info from your doctor on your illness and medication(s). The public hospital doc kept us up to speed on on everything the spouse had done to him and we were handed a full report with all the deets upon discharge. As you say, hospitals do vary in how they handle things.
Hopefully this is your last experience with the ER for the near future.
Thanks for your input, Jana. That must have been really scary!
It was definitely a weekend to remember. The public hospital was very, very busy, but we never felt like my husband was just being shunted through. The stunner, at least for an American, was when we went to pay the bill.
Initially the clerk said 40eu, even though we had indicated we had insurance. Then he apologized and said he’d made a mistake. At this point I’m mentally doing math on the spouse’s treatments (neurological, cardio workup, audiological, bloodwork, CT scan, MRI, 36 hrs in ER, etc etc) and the clerk announces, “No charge.” Because my spouse was brought in via ambulance and considered an emergency. Blew us away.
Since then every time we do a large purchase with a hefty tax charge, I smile. We’re just payin’ it back, a little bit at a time.
I’m so glad you’re feeling better Amy! It must have been disorienting on top of being sick to have care that was difficult to navigate and understand. Big hug! Thank you for sharing this - it’s helping me out together our emergency plans. We went to our GP this week who has been to Portugal (and for some reason hated the food - said she was hungry most of the time and spent a good portion of my appointment advising me to bring hot sauce with me because the food is so bland - haha 😂). Because of our severe allergies I am getting us medical bracelets in Portuguese and laminating it as cards too (Doug is allergic to Penicillin and sulfa drugs) so that we have clear communication in an emergency. She gave me prophylactic prescriptions in case of emergencies too. Anyway, I appreciate you sharing with us and hope you never have to return to write a second review!
those bracelets in Portuguese are a really good idea! way to take a challenge and figure out a workaround!
As for crazy chains, other than McD's, Burger King and Dunkin, Dollar General has become a disease. Every town, even the small ones have them. Bigger town, like Windam, have 2, as well as Dallar Tree and Family Dollar.
Right! Dollar General! I forgot about those!
We don't have dollar stores here in general. We do have a type of store called the Chinese stores or Loja Chinese. They carry everything. By everything I mean everything. Clothing, plates, cookware, hardware, sewing items, cleaning supplies, purses, it just keeps going. Each one's a little different. But it's nuts. Quality isn't the best, but if you need something it's there.
Hi Amy, We are also in Lisbon and have gone to Cufe Tejo when my husband did the thing we always tell our kids not to do and the cotton from a q tip broke off in his ear canal. They took us right away. He was triaged, then looked at by the ER Doc and then straight up to the emergency ENT. Who confirmed the q tip was inside, removed it, cleaned out the wax that was bothering him in the first place and we were in and out in less than an hour. The bill with our private insurance was under 70 euros. I don’t recall exactly, but they emailed Michael the bill. His Internist is at Cufe and we have been really impressed with all the services there. We also had a crazy good experience with a public hospital up in Monsão, when my husband was fishing and he got a puncture from a piece of rusty metal in the river. That’s another story but also, surprisingly positive. I hope you guys never have another emergency, but I’d definitely recommend Cufe Tejo if you do. I was interested in Serenity as I am the worrier in the relationship but we haven’t made the move. Many people have sung their praises, however! Hope you are well!
What great information! Thank you! CUF Tejo it's surprisingly hard for us to get to. Luz is straight up the blue line and we are close to a blue line and it's right off. So we've been trying to stick there just because it's easy. But I don't know.
Oh my goodness, how stressful. I am glad you are feeling better.
Yikes, Amy! Just getting to read this as the school year begins and my free time dwindles, and I am so glad to hear you are feeling better! Hopefully you never have your own ambulance stories!
Thanks, Moira. Good luck with the new year!
We had no complaints about our ambulance experience. Mark was in a car accident and hit his head - which meant the paramedics wanted to take him in, even though he seemed okay other than the ugly knot on his forehead. He also got a yellow bracelet once we arrived at the public hospital.
Oh my gosh! That must have been so awful. On the other hand, I'm glad to know I have a yellow bracelet buddy ;-)
Do you have Serenity concierge service and imergencies.com. My friends in Portugal have found them invaluable.
We do. We have not found them very helpful.
imergencies is something that sounds interesting and we will look into that. Thanks!!
I’m surprised by your difficulty scheduling appointments with your GP. Even if you call, you can’t get in sooner than 7-10 days out? I haven’t tried with a GP yet, but our private dentist was able to get Lily in for a same-day appointment.
There's literally no phone number to call. Before I gave in I did everything you can imagine to try to get a phone number. Or an email. Now when I talk to a doctor I asked if they have email or phone number. If it's in a hospital like Luz the answer is always No. I am finding that doctors who have an office not in the hospital are easier to reach. So I'm starting to search there for my practitioners.
Broke my shoulder when we were living in Olhão, mid pandemic. The ambulance team was great.
At SNS Faro, the wait time was reasonable (I arrived around midnight on a Saturday and was home around 5) and the care, while perfunctory, was competent.
What has stayed with me was the sound of the multiple elderly, disoriented, clearly in discomfort and/or pain, patients who were left on gurneys in the hallway outside our waiting area for hours without any attention.
While I honestly believe the SNS staff was doing the best they could during a difficult time, I hope I'm never in the same situation.
Thank you for the ambulance info.
I used to work in a facility for older people. Generally when people are left in certain regions, always, by nursing stations, it is so staff can keep an eye on them. That does not make their distress any easier to bear.
Generally, yes, I'd agree.
And I've been on a gurney for hours (10AM-6PM) in a hallway in the ER in a hospital in Boston, waiting for a surgeon to be available to perform an appendectomy. I was well attended to and given that there wasn't a room available, was grateful for the care.
Just to be clear. This was not that situation.
Got it. Sounds awful.