Thinking about moving to Cyprus from Malta - Healthcare concerned

State provided Healthcare in Cyprus is very very good.

However you must be entitled to it by way of being in receipt of your home country state pension or by way of working and paying contributions - - other wise its private healthcare am afraid. I guess it all depends on  your current state of health and what your needs are.

Yes the state ambulances currently are not manned by trained paramedics. they are ambulances definitely not cars...lol ..... It will take time but things are changing - for example next year it is planned for a complete revamp of the Heath services here - for the better i may add

The private ambulance service is not bad and represents good value if it guarantees getting to you in time and with paramedics on board that alone may just keep you alive until you get to hospital where the care there will save your life. Put it this way most ambulances usually cant find your street (language barrier and a single postcode covers a massive area) and sometimes require you to meet them at say a nearby garage or some other easily found place - not exactly good if you have collapsed. However the private service meets you at your home and logs the route and even the colour of your door on their system and has fully trained british paramedics on board...... (at approx €40 per month per couple this covers you and your spouse and any family members that stay with you or are visiting you)

The bad press was malicious and in my opinion was not warranted at all. NB you can always try and find a place near the the state hospital lol

Yes you do have to be careful  - not always easy when in panic mode when something major has happened to you or a loved one - which may result in being taken to a private hospital rather than the state one = this happened to a friend of mine last year and he ended up with a bill for over €40k of which €10k was for oxygen

hope this  helps

By the way we too left Malta two years ago after 6-7 mostly enjoyable years there and absolutely love it here  = and i have to say we definitely prefer it.

hi m.c. i have lived in cyprus for 10 years, i have only had one occasion i had to go to  a&e mid week and i couldn't fault what the hospital did for me, i was seen within 5 minutes and treated, as i say this was mid week. however, attending as an out patient and an ex pat there are certain things that leave a lot to be desired, i will not go into details. there has been problems here with their n.h.s. nurses strikes and disgruntled doctors. there is also corruption with back handers for treatment and advice given to patients as to what would be better for them if cash was handed over. it is worrying. there are no paramedics manning the ambulances which in the case of a heart attack could prove to be fatal as immediate treatment on the way to hospital could be a life saver. as regards private health insurance it is expensive on a u.k. state pension and unaffordable. sorry the news is not all good but these are the facts.

Many thanks for your replies, they are very much appreciated.

So it looks like it would have to be private health insurance. I'll investigate about the costs. So all private health clinics have ambulances, or you have to contract that one and only service?

Are the private clinics able to cope with major problems, or do they redirect to the public hospital when something is too serious as in Malta?

i don't know how well the private clinics are equiped m.c. or what their expertise is.

we were speaking to a couple yesterday here and they swear by the treatment they have had at the paphos general etc  and even went on to say the private walk-in clinic here in the coral bay resort are brilliant and the doctor there is a surgeon in his own right... i know of two friends here who have used him for various "works" and they are very very pleased

i believe most specialists are available either at the general or can be referred too.

Cost for private healthcare vary widely..... when we got here we were quoted €10k per yr initially for us both... but then we got such a wide range of quotes for what we thought was similar cover.... we ended up taking a conservative view and what we felt was appropriate cover for us at €700 per yr each- do the research and get as many quotes as you can from
abbeygate
pacific
atlantic
top quotes
gan direct

to name a few - then compare the cover and take what you think is most apt for you

we went with AIG through abbeygate

although there is a low level cover to satisfy immigration requirements for your yellow slip (required at 4months) at under €200 per yr - its limited cover but worth careful consideration

I am of the belief that after 5 yrs legal residence here you would get free state healthcare anyway  - subject to whatever happens with the referendum and any changes that may be required

i was posted with the forces there, meddetererian,poly clinic in limassol.they were contracted to mod,
fantastic and most docs study in uk ,then move back to their country,

equipment is secont to none,attendance is like within 10-minutes unlike our uk nhs in emergency is 2 hrs if u lucky.

If you need private healthcare, with homecare British nurses or carers try either http://www.sunshinecarerscyprus.com/ or http://www.care-at-home-cyprus.com/ - both British owned and managed.  Sunshine Carers Cyprus cover most, but not all areas of Cyprus

For ambulance service for Paphos try either http://www.ambulancecy.com/ or http://flrcyprus.eu/ - both are British owned and British managed with UK equipped ambulances and paramedics or medical technicians.