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Hernia repair in Spain for Irish public patients
Covered by the HSE under the Cross Border Directive.
A hernia is a bulge where part of the inside of your belly pushes through a weak spot in the muscle wall, often in the groin, and it can ache when you lift, cough or stand for a long time.
Your hernia repaired without the public wait: a fixed price in a private hospital in Spain, paid back by the HSE. The hospital, the surgeon, the price and your stay are in writing before you decide.
Free · no commitment · no documents · by video or phone, at a time you pick
Your right under EU law since 2011
2,266claims paid back to Irish patients in 2024
Your rights under the schemeAt the end of September 2026, 17,433 adults were waiting for general surgery, which includes hernia repairs, in a public hospital in Ireland. More than four in ten of them had waited longer than six months.
National Treatment Purchase Fund, inpatient and day-case waiting list by specialty, September 2026
Your hernia repair in Spain, step by step.
Eight steps from the first conversation to your refund. You commit at step 4, not before.
Before you commit
Stop at any time, at no cost
Talk to us
You
Schedule a free call, by video or phone, at a time you pick. We answer your questions and tell you how the route works for a hernia repair.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. You need a referral for your hernia from your GP or from a consultant you saw as a public patient, or a letter showing you are on the public waiting list.
We determine your eligibility
Ablement · within 1 to 2 working days
You get a clear yes or no on whether you are eligible for a hernia repair in Spain.
We find a private hospital
Ablement · within 5 working days of a complete file
We ask the hospitals and send you one written proposal: the hospital, the surgeon, the price of your hernia repair, the dates and your expected refund.
After you commit
We stay with you to the refund
Your date is confirmed
The hospital
The hospital confirms your date in writing within 10 working days of your acceptance, and then you book your travel. Whether you stay a night in hospital depends on your operation and your surgeon; the hospital's written plan says how long you will be away.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
If you stay overnight, you meet your surgeon in person before you are admitted, as the HSE requires; for a day case you can talk by video or phone before you travel, where the hospital offers it. Then you have your operation and fly home when the surgeon says you are fit to fly. You pay the hospital directly and send us the documents for your claim.
We claim your refund
Ablement · within 5 working days of your return
We send your signed claim to the HSE and follow it until you are paid. The HSE paid in 45 days on average in 2024.
Your aftercare at home
Your GP
Your GP and the public system take over, as if you had the operation at home. Ask the surgeon about lifting before you leave; your GP follows up from there.
One contact person, from the first conversation to the refund.
Easy to reach at every step. A family member can join every call.
What a hernia repair costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your hernia repair, in writing before you commit. You pay the hospital directly, before the HSE pays you back.
The HSE
Pays you back up to what a hernia repair costs in the Irish public system, at the rate for the setting it would have had in Ireland, a day case or an overnight stay, in 45 days on average (2024).
The detail for a hernia repair
The HSE pays back the cost of your hernia repair up to the Irish public cost of that operation, or the hospital's invoice if lower. The HSE pays at the rate for the setting your hernia repair would have had in Ireland, as a day case or with an overnight stay, whatever your stay abroad; your proposal shows the expected refund. You receive it after the treatment, into your own account; it does not pay for travel, a hotel or a companion. The price is fixed in writing before you accept, and if no hospital offers one the refund covers, we put the gap in writing and you choose.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if a hernia repair in Spain can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
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What a hernia repair involves
A hernia is a bulge where part of the inside of the abdomen pushes through a weak spot in the muscle wall, most often in the groin. In a hernia repair the surgeon pushes the bulge back into place and closes the weak spot, usually with a thin mesh that strengthens the wall and reduces the chance of the hernia coming back. It can be done through one cut over the hernia (open repair) or by keyhole surgery through a few small cuts, under a local, a spinal or a general anaesthetic; the surgeon decides which with you.
The operation usually takes well under an hour. You walk the same day, and the main rule afterwards is no heavy lifting for some weeks while the repair heals. The aim is an end to the ache and the bulge, and a wall that holds.
Questions about a hernia repair
Short answers to what people ask us most. Open a question to read the answer.
All frequently asked questionsYour question isn't here?
Ask us in the chat Or send us a message from the Contact pageIs a hernia repair a day case or an overnight stay?
Either is possible. Your surgeon decides which applies to you, and the hospital's written plan says how long you will stay. The refund follows the setting the operation would have had in Ireland, not your stay abroad, and the written proposal says what the price covers.
Keyhole surgery or open surgery?
Both are used. The surgeon decides with you at the consultation which is right for you. The written proposal states which operation the price covers.
When can I fly home and carry bags?
Usually within a few days, when the surgeon has checked the wound and says you are fit to fly. Ask the surgeon for instructions about lifting for the weeks after, and it helps to have someone with you to carry the luggage.
Will I lose my place on the Irish waiting list?
No. The HSE's rules do not ask you to leave the list to use the scheme, and you stay on it until you have been treated. Once your operation is done abroad, you let the Irish hospital know, so it can take you off the list. If you change your mind before then, nothing has changed at home.
Do I have to pay up front?
Yes. You pay the hospital directly, and the HSE pays you back afterwards, in 45 days on average in 2024. Some people use savings, help from their family or a credit union loan. We do not lend money or arrange loans, and no money of yours passes through us.
Is it safe, and what if something goes wrong?
You see the hospital and the surgeon's name in writing before you decide anything, and you have a consultation with the surgeon before the operation. Every hospital we work with must be registered with its country's health authorities, use surgeons who specialise in the operation, give its price and its terms on complications in writing, and give you an English-speaking contact person. The hospital that treats you is responsible for your care, and it must have a complaints procedure. We help you deal with the hospital, and at home your GP takes over as after any operation.
Why is your help free? What's the catch?
There is no catch. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee; you never pay us anything, and the hospital's price is fixed in writing before you accept. You can stop at any time before you sign with the hospital.
Will the HSE really pay me back?
The Cross Border Directive is EU law, and the HSE paid 2,266 claims from Irish patients in 2024 alone. The refund is yours when the paperwork is right: the referral, the consultation, the itemised invoice and your receipt. We prepare the claim with you, and before you travel you can send the HSE a prior notification, which tells you in advance whether you are eligible and gives an indication of the amount.
Can a family member come with me, or join the calls?
Yes. A family member can join every call and meeting, be named on your Consent Form and travel with you. Their travel and hotel are your own cost.
Find out if this route can work for you
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