Private Clinic in Lanzarote?

Question

We got back from Lanzarote last week. Whilst there my daughter got an ear infection. I took her to the local private clinic. We were there 5 minutes. He gave me a prescription and we were told to return in 2 days. We went back and were there another 10 minutes. He syringed her ear (basically washed it out with water and some other stuff). For 15 minutes of their time it cost us 265 Euros (£178). I paid for the prescription separately. It was Scandinavisk Klinik Euroklinik. I was gobsmacked when I got the bill! Has anyone else used this or any other clinic there and been shocked by the cost? The Euro health card couldn't be used by the way.

Answer 1

Hi sorry to hear about you problems in Lanzarote.
I live in Gran Canaria so maybe I can help.
1; To use your Euro health card you would have to have gone to a government run clinic or doctor which as a tourist may be hard to find ( could have asked at your hotel reception or a Tourist information centre.)
2; However if you had travel insurance it is possible to get reimbursed from the insurance company by sending them your bill ( take a copy to keep yourself ) Skandie clinics are not the best on the islands there are clinics that cater for the English.
Many people get ear infections on holiday this is mainly caused by the swimming pools some not cleaned properly or infrequent.
If you are abroad in Spain or the Islands try the chemist ( pharmacy, identified by a green cross ) first they are quite knowledgeable if you tell them the problem they can normally prescribe the right medicines.
Hope this helped answer your question

Answer 2

That sounds about right. If you had gone to a public facility, you should have been able to use the EHIC card, but they are not accepted in private clinics