Health? In the article Healthcare we promised to report back as soon as we had to see doctors or hospitals in Croatia. Well, that time had come, and our odyssey began.

 

 

A sunny morning with a painful end

It was a sunny morning, and the day started like any other. First, we played with Bailey in bed for a few minutes before getting started on making coffee. This involved boiling water and grinding coffee beans in a manual coffee grinder. It took a while but definitely woke us up. Steffi took on this task while I stepped outside briefly. That’s when it happened: I took a step, and a sharp, tearing pain shot up my leg from my foot. That was it for my health.

So, what happened? I thought I knew our lot quite well from playing with Bailey. There were hardly any bumps, and especially no holes. But it seemed that the rabbits had decided to dig up our lot during the night. In the past few days, we had seen rabbits on the premises multiple times. It must have been a rabbit. After identifying the culprit, back to the story. I stepped with my left foot from a height of about 12 inches onto the edge of one of these holes and twisted my ankle. It happened so fast; it’s unbelievable.

 

In search of medical help

Of course, my foot swelled up, and the pain was unbearable. After a few hours, however, it became more manageable, and we decided to see a doctor. Health comes first. In Germany, I would simply go to an orthopedic specialist, so we pulled out our smartphones and searched for an orthopedist nearby. We came across a website listing German-speaking doctors in Croatia. According to the list, there were two orthopedists right in our vicinity. After failing to reach anyone by phone, we decided to drive to the given address. Upon arrival, we saw the sign for the doctor’s office. However, when we rang the doorbell, we were informed that the doctor was no longer practicing.

We continued our search and eventually found MEDICO Pula through a search engine. If we interpreted it correctly, MEDICO is a healthcare facility that covers various specialties, such as orthopedics, internal medicine, cardiology, and more. Since we were already in Pula, we went directly to the address. A simple but clean building with a modern interior surprised us on-site. The long, wide hallway led directly to the registration desk, with an adjoining waiting area. Everything seemed very modern and new.

At the registration desk, there were already six employees who looked at me. I politely asked if anyone spoke English or German. Only one lady responded. After I explained my situation, suddenly all present were able to speak English. I was informed that I was in the wrong place and needed to go to the hospital. The lady noted down the address for me and wished me good luck. The situation was confusing, as the website of this facility explicitly advertises „Ortopedija.“

No matter; our goal was to see a doctor to assess the damage. We drove to the noted address and suddenly found ourselves in front of what appeared to be a residential building. This surprised us. Nevertheless, we continued our drive, and after a few hundred meters, we spotted a large building with a parking lot. It quickly became clear that we were in the right place. However, the street had a different name than indicated, and the house number didn’t match either. Well, during our countless excursions, we had often stumbled upon the fact that house numbers seemed wildly jumbled. Later, we learned that the hospital complex stretched over several streets. We had reached our destination and now faced the next challenge—where did we need to go?

 

Pula General Hospital

While Steffi and Bailey waited in the car, I had to navigate my way alone. I was very curious about what to expect, especially regarding language. When I arrived at the information desk, I greeted the lady in Croatian and politely asked if she spoke English or German. After my question, her expression darkened, and she curtly replied that she spoke English. I explained my problem, and she directed me to the emergency room. As luck would have it, I took a wrong turn and suddenly found myself in the dialysis department. But there was also information here. Same situation again; after I asked the lady at the info desk if she spoke English, she seemed less friendly. She pointed me in the right direction, and I finally reached the emergency room.

I found myself directly in the waiting area and was overwhelmed by the number of people. I spotted a counter with a glass front, but everything seemed unstaffed. The lights were off, and the speaking slots in the glass front were taped shut. Additionally, the serving window was covered with an A4 sheet of paper. So, I decided to sit down first, as my foot was hurting from the trek through the hospital, and observed. When I saw that the other patients simply approached the counter and spoke, I realized: „There is indeed someone sitting there.“

 

Hospital treatment in Croatia

So my next goal was the registration desk. Here, a young man was sitting, and I asked him if he spoke English as well. Without the mood changing, he answered kindly that he spoke English and how he could help me. I was surprised and explained my problem to him. He asked if I had a European Health Insurance Card, which I unfortunately had to decline.

With the German health card, you can get treatment in Croatia without any problems. However, as we are no longer registered in Germany and have canceled our health insurance, we can no longer use the health card. We first have to pay for our health insurance abroad in advance and can then submit the bill to the insurance company. The procedure is not as convenient as with the health card. It took us almost a month to get the costs reimbursed.

My personal details were recorded, and I was asked to take a seat in the waiting area. It felt like 15 minutes had passed before I was called. Completely surprised, I hobbled to the door, where a slightly grumpy nurse asked why I was there. I explained my problem again and showed her my foot. The nurse typed something into her computer and then asked me to take a seat in the waiting area again. A doctor would call me.

Now the waiting began. Two hours passed before the sliding door opened, and a very young lady in a white coat called my name. I thought she was an intern or a nurse. When she started asking me questions and examining my foot, I realized that she was the doctor. I was completely taken aback. She pressed on my foot and asked if I was in pain. She concluded that the ligaments were fine. Next, I had to get an X-ray, for which I had to wait about twenty minutes. Finally, an hour later, I had a conversation with the doctor in which we discussed the X-ray results. There were no fractures. The doctor recommended icing my foot, avoiding putting weight on it, and buying an ointment.

 

Conclusion

As a private patient, I spent just over three hours in the emergency room. Whether this time can be considered long, I don’t know. For me, anything over thirty minutes is already unbearable. The hospital struck me as very modern and clean, and the technology (X-ray system) didn’t seem too old either. I cannot assess the competence of the examination conducted, as I am not a doctor. At this point, I have to trust the doctor. When it comes to health, we must trust doctors—around the world. With that said, stay healthy.

That was just a small insight into our adventure. If you want to find out more about our journey, check out our post Health care system in Spain. We’d love you to continue following us – there’s still so much to discover!