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Prostate surgery in Spain for Irish public patients
Covered by the HSE under the Cross Border Directive.
An enlarged prostate can mean broken nights and a constant search for a toilet, and the public wait for an operation in Ireland is long.
Your prostate operation 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, 11,550 adults were waiting for urological surgery, which includes prostate operations, in a public hospital in Ireland. More than one in three of them had waited longer than six months.
National Treatment Purchase Fund, inpatient and day-case waiting list by specialty, September 2026
Your prostate operation 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 prostate operation.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. You need a referral from your GP or from the urologist you saw as a public patient, or a letter showing you are on the public waiting list for the operation.
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 prostate operation 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 prostate operation, 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. Plan to be away for your nights in hospital and a few more days nearby; the hospital's written plan says how many.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
You meet your urologist in person before you are admitted (for a prostate operation the HSE does not accept a video call), 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. Show your GP the discharge report; your GP can refer you to a public urologist if you need one.
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 prostate operation costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your prostate operation, 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 transurethral resection of the prostate costs in the Irish public system, at the inpatient rate, in 45 days on average (2024).
The detail for a prostate operation
The HSE pays back the cost of your treatment up to what a transurethral resection of the prostate costs in an Irish public hospital. In Ireland the operation means an overnight stay, so it is paid at the inpatient rate, the rate for treatment with an overnight stay. The money is paid to you after the treatment, into your own account; flights, your hotel and the costs of anyone who travels with you are not included. The hospital's price is fixed in writing before you say yes, and if no hospital offers a price the refund covers, we show you the difference in writing and the choice is yours.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if a prostate operation in Spain can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
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What a prostate operation involves
The usual operation for an enlarged prostate, a transurethral resection, treats the benign enlargement that comes with age and makes it hard to pass water; it is not a cancer operation. Under a general or a spinal anaesthetic, the surgeon passes a thin instrument along the urine passage and removes the inner part of the prostate that presses on it, with no cut in the skin. The operation usually takes under an hour.
Afterwards a thin tube, a catheter, drains the bladder for a short time while the inside heals, and it is removed before you leave. Passing water becomes easier within days, and the flow and the broken nights improve over the following weeks. The surgeon explains the side effects to expect, such as a change in ejaculation, before you decide.
Questions about a prostate operation
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 pageWhich prostate operations does this cover?
Mainly operations for an enlarged prostate that makes it hard to pass water, where part of the prostate is removed or treated from the inside, without a cut from outside. If your consultant has recommended a different prostate operation, ask us; we check whether the hospital offers it.
How long will I stay in hospital, and when can I fly home?
That depends on the hospital's plan for you, which you see in the written proposal before you accept. You may have a catheter, a thin tube that drains urine, for a short time afterwards. After you leave the ward you stay near the hospital for a few more days, until the hospital has checked that you pass water normally and the surgeon says you are fit to fly.
What if I have a problem after I come home?
Once you are home, your GP and the Irish public system look after you, just as if you had the operation in Ireland. Show your GP the discharge report; your GP can refer you to a public urologist if you need one. If something feels urgent, go to an emergency department. If you need to reach the hospital in Spain, we help you do that, and the hospital's written terms say what it does about complications.
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 meet the surgeon in person before you are admitted. 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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