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Spinal surgery in Spain for Irish public patients
Covered by the HSE under the Cross Border Directive.
Living with back or leg pain while you wait for an operation on your spine can limit how far you walk and how long you can sit.
Your spinal 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, 14,988 adults were waiting for orthopaedic surgery in a public hospital in Ireland. Of those, 5,275 had waited longer than six months.
National Treatment Purchase Fund, inpatient and day-case waiting list by specialty, September 2026
Your spinal 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 spinal surgery.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. You need a referral from your GP or from a consultant you saw as a public patient, or a letter showing you are on the public waiting list. Recent scans of your spine help the hospital review your case before it gives you a price.
We determine your eligibility
Ablement · within 1 to 2 working days
You get a clear yes or no on whether you are eligible for spinal surgery 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 spinal 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 surgeon in person before you are admitted (for spinal surgery 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. If you have a problem with your back, your GP is your first contact, and we help you reach the hospital in Spain if you need to.
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 spinal operation costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your spinal 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 the same operation, a decompression or a fusion, costs in the Irish public system, at the inpatient rate, in 45 days on average (2024).
The detail for a spinal operation
The HSE refunds the cost of your spinal operation up to what the same operation, a decompression or a fusion, costs in the Irish public system, or the invoice if that is lower. In Ireland spinal surgery involves a few nights in hospital, so the inpatient rate applies. The refund is paid to you once the treatment is done, into your own account; flights, accommodation and a companion are not included. You have the price fixed in writing before you accept, and if no hospital offers one the refund covers, we show you the gap in writing and you decide.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if a spinal operation in Spain can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
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What a spinal operation involves
Spinal surgery treats pain, numbness or weakness in the legs or arms that comes from a nerve pressed inside the spine, when rest, exercise and injections have not helped. In a decompression the surgeon removes what presses on the nerve: a piece of a worn disc, a thickened ligament or a little bone. In a fusion the surgeon joins two or more bones of the spine with a bone graft, usually held by screws and rods, so that they heal into one and no longer move against each other. Both are done under a general anaesthetic.
Leg or arm pain from a trapped nerve is what these operations relieve best, often quickly; numbness and weakness take longer, and back pain on its own is less predictable, which the surgeon discusses with you before you decide. You are up and walking within a day or two, and you build up activity over weeks, longer after a fusion while the bone heals.
Questions about a spinal 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 pageHow many nights will I spend in hospital?
That depends on the operation and on the hospital's plan for you, which you see in the written proposal before you accept. After the hospital you stay some days close by until the surgeon says you can fly. The surgeon decides for each patient.
Who would operate on me?
In Spain, spinal operations are done by orthopaedic spine surgeons and by neurosurgeons. We ask the hospital who would operate on you and how many of these operations they do, and you get the answers in writing before you decide.
What if I have a problem with my back after I get home?
At home your GP and the Irish public system care for you, as if you had been treated in Ireland. If it is urgent, go to an emergency department. We help you contact the hospital or the surgeon in Spain if you need to, and the hospital's terms for complications are in writing before you accept.
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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