The E111 form for non residents will cover you for emergency treatment in Spain. It is really for tourists, but will make sure that you do not end up having to pay for treatment during your first few weeks or months in Spain. It will not cover you for any non-urgent treatment such as treatment for ongoing conditions, maternity care or vaccinations. The E-121 form is for permanent residents in Spain.
You do not need any forms to buy medicines in a pharmacy, though and you may be surprised at what you can buy. Many drugs that are prescription only in the UK are available to over the counter in a Spanish pharmacy, including Asthma inhalers and antibiotics. Obviously some drugs are expensive though and it would be cheaper to get them on prescription if you are entitled to health care in Spain. If you want to be able to get medicines on prescription in Spain, you should bring a UK prescription with you, and be prepared to get it officially translated into Spanish.
When you are living in Spain you should not rely on form E111 in the long term. See the Permits and Taxes in Spain, or read the booklet that comes with the E111 for various other options if you are working in Spain planning to retire to Spain, if you are a student, or if you are self-employed and planning to work there for less than two years. Otherwise you should either get private health insurance or join the Spanish Social Security system.
Private health insurance is widely available and on the coasts at least there are many schemes specifically aimed at British ex-pats. Do read your policy carefully though as you may find some things you will need are excluded. Some policies only cover you for emergency treatment in the home and/or an ambulance to the local hospital for example and you may find that you have to pay for the hospital treatment after you have received it. Follow the link for more information on obtaining a residence permit in Spain.
If you do not have private healthe insurance you should join the Social Security system. Once you take any job in Spain your employer is obliged to process all the paperwork for you, pay part of your contributions and deduct the other part from your salary. You should be a little careful though: some small businesses pay all their staff cash in hand and those staff will not be eligible for Social Security benefits, including health care. Other employers may register you, but claim you are working less than you are, thus saving themselves some money in contributions. In this situation you will still be eligible for health care, but if you become unemployed or have to take sick leave, your benefits will be lower. Obviously you may not have much of a choice as to who you work for, but we would strongly recommend that you do not work cash-in-hand.
If you are self-employed you will have to go to the local Social Security office and fill in all the paper-work yourself. Unless your Spanish is very good, then it is probably advisable to get a gestor (official agent - a bit like a lawyer for menial bureaucracy) to do this for you. Beware of using a British accountant who doesn?t speak Spanish fluently - you may find that you have not been registered correctly.
Once you are registered, you will find that the Spanish health-care system is very good. There are small differences in policy between the British and Spanish systems, but overall they are very similar. The only potential problems are the fact that many medical staff do not speak English (even in resort areas) and that nursing care is not as good as in the UK. If you do not speak Spanish, then it is advisable to find out about interpretation services and/or take someone who does speak Spanish with you to all appointments.
Dental treatment is Spain is also very good but it is not free. It is however cheaper than private dental treatment in the UK.
Once you get to Spain it is also advisable to look up the local emergency phone number(s). The national equivalent of a 999 call is 112, the police can contact the other emergency services for you. In Andalucia, the number to call for medical emergencies is 061.
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