Íæż½ã½ã

@Kath948381

That depends!  If you need serious medical care then you'll need to be able to fund all, or at least a significant portion, of it yourself.  You are also likely to find that even seemingly-simple things like getting an ambulance to a decent hospital - in one of the big cities, or perhaps just in Sofia - is difficult and expensive. Drug costs can also be significant.

On the other hand, the UK NHS seems to be going to H*ll in a handbasket, so it may not always be the better option.  From my all-too-extensive dealings with the BG health system, I'd say that the NHS is still your best bet.

If you get very frail, BG "hospices" (ie care homes, without the UK connotations attached to the word) are cheaper than their UK equivalents but nowhere near as good, even nowadays.  And you get to pay the full whack here.

Best advice - find yourself a BG toy boy and grow old disgracefully! 😎

Thanks Jimj but what do I do with my UK toyboy who's here with me now? I'm 72 and he's 61 but has an ICD

Treat him to plenty of rakiya, then swipe the battery while he's sleeping it off...😎

@JimJ I understood that Labour removed the 80ish K cap that the Conservatives had imposed on care home contributions in UK so now it’s full whack there too!

So , I don't expect anything for free.

We'll be 67 and 64 when we move. Our intention is to invest whatever we get for our UK house and not touch it unless needed -- that money will only be used for medical care.

I have a toy boy, too, Kath. Mine comes equipped with a pacemaker, which is going to need replacing at some stage. At a minimum we have to be sure we can pay for that privately if needed.

@janemulberry

I think we are in similar situations. Wanting to move but can't yet? I think, if I remember correctly, your' s is due to waiting for pensions? Mine is due to my wife' parents who need us and are both nearly 88.  Hopefully,  one day. Not that I wish them any demise.

I'll make do as well as I can Jane , I've never had a credit card or bothered with living beyond my current means but I'll manage as I'm sure you two will as well.

@alanjolly65

Hubby's mother needing us was one of the reasons we didn't move sooner. We first visited Bulgaria in 2012 and felt it was the place for us, but we were her primary caregivers at the time. One by one her neighbours, all good friends, passed away, so she decided to move to be closer to her surviving friends and adult grandchildren. But by then Brexit had happened, then hubby developed heart problems. He now has his pacemaker, she passed away last year at 96, so we're waiting for my pension so I can get the D visa.

I hope you and your wife can find peace and joy in the waiting time, and also get some respite to have a break in Bulgaria.

@Kath948381

Very wise. We're also careful to live within our means. I'm sure you will do fine.

@Kath948381

Just to add another little "observation" to my other musings on the BG health service, and perhaps give you something to think about.

Pa-in-law (85) had another turn which necessitated an impromptu drive to our village house yesterday, where I discovered that he hadn't eaten any of his meals-on-wheels for a few days but had somehow managed to rip his permanent catheter out some time before (I imagine that any males reading this are crossing their knees right now, just as I did on finding out...😫).  I won't go into details but he was, literally, a bl@@dy mess.

I manoeuvred him into my car and drove him to the nearby town, where the "medical facilities" include a couple of pretty unimpressive hospitals, only one of which has an A&E department.  They "assessed" him and he was then loaded into an ambulance to the other hospital, where they actually have some sort of facilities to treat him. 

It turns out that his haemoglobin level is critically low (2.5 g/dl) and he needs an immediate blood transfusion; however, he isn't getting one.  Why not, I hear you ask. Well, the BG Blood Transfusion Service operates on the basis of "one in, one out", ie the patients (or more usually, their relatives/friends) have to provide one unit of donated blood for every unit administered; I'm too old to donate blood here, and my wife is too sick (they also have lower age limits and even weight limits!) The local Blood Transfusion Centre won't release any blood to the hospital until they've had written confirmation that the same number of units have been donated in the name of the patient - if said patient kicks the bucket in the meantime, that's just tough luck...😨 It has nothing to do with his age or any factor connected to him, it's the same for anyone..

I'm so sorry, @JimJ.

@JimJ

Evening Jim, Sorry to hear that and thanks for the update on bloods that’s eye opening!

Rgds,

ozzy

@JimJ

Very sorry to hear of your father's situation Jim.

You may have already tried and I'm none the wiser, but I wonder whether you could get a transfusion privately, in a private hospital? Or may be they get blood the same way as the public system?

I'll ask my wife when she comes home from work (she's in the medical profession) whether it's any different in the big cities (we're in Varna).

@JimJ

Blood bank levels are quite low everywhere. I am quite healthy to give and would if I could, but not allowed to because Austria doesn't allow Brits to give because of the BSE.