Irish people seeking health care can now include a new hospital in Spain as an option.
The hospital intends to focus on treating patients from Ireland’s waiting lists as part of a major new healthcare agreement.
Patients will be treated under the EU Cross Border Directive, whereby the Health Service Executive covers the price of treatment up to the cost it would be in Ireland.
The new 64-bed hospital is in Alicante. Initially, around 1,500 Irish patients will get routine planned surgeries each year at the facility.
Almost every treatment that is currently available on the Irish public system will be provided at the new hospital.
Patients will have to cover their own flight and accommodation costs.
The hospital is expected to provide hip replacements, knee operations, spinal procedures, cataract procedures, weight-loss surgeries and other treatments.
Irish people have also used the fund to seek treatment under the scheme in Poland, Lithuania and Germany.
