Hospitals

"Extracts from the full website info at the link below.

All residents in Spain need to register to access healthcare.

Once registered for healthcare, basic state services are free, but there are some things that patients need to pay for. For example, you usually have to pay something towards prescriptions – either a reduced price or the full price.

UK nationals usually access the Spanish national health system in one of these ways:

• through entitlement to healthcare if they’re employed or self-employed in Spain
• paying directly into the public health insurance scheme (Convenio Especial)
• registering a UK-issued S1 form with the social security office
• using a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) for temporary stays
• through entitlement to healthcare as a permanent resident if they’ve lived in Spain for 5 years

If you are not working

If you’ve been a resident in Spain for 5 years or more, you can apply for permanent residency. This will give you access to state healthcare on the same basis as a Spanish citizen.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-in-spain-including-the-balearic-and-canary-islands

If you don't qualify for any of the above, you should have private health insurance.

Hope this helps!"

The hospital is Santa Lucia in Cartegena which is about 50 minute drive away. 

There is an emergency at the salud in mazarron town under 15 minute drive from the entrance of camposol

For clarity, this was a response to a question from an existing permanent resident. The requirements are different depending on your residency status.

If you are thinking of moving to Spain permanently, as part of your application for a 'non lucrative visa' - the first step to residency - you would need to pay for private healthcare cover for the first year at least (depending on your age relative to being eligible for a state pension). You would need to declare existing conditions, which I would politely suggest would make this very expensive, given your stroke issues.

If you intend to be a non resident (using a holiday home for a maximum of 90 out of 180 days at a time), then you would be covered by your EHIC card, but should also purchase medical travel insurance (which again may be expensive to cover existing conditions).

Santa Lucia is a brilliant hospital, I was sent there with a suspected TIA. I was seen very quickly  bloods were taken, seen by the ER doc and sent for a scan, then seen by neurologist.  All within 3 hours.

No doubt about it being a superb hospital.

The problem is the 50 minute drive there especially for things like heart attacks.