Schedule a free call
Free · no commitment · no documents · by video or phone, at a time you pick
Varicose vein treatment in Spain for Irish public patients
Covered by the HSE under the Cross Border Directive.
Varicose veins can leave your legs aching, swollen and itchy by the end of the day, and the public wait for treatment in Ireland is long.
Your varicose veins treated without the public wait: a fixed price in a private hospital in Spain, paid back by the HSE when the treatment is for a medical reason. 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, 2,706 adults were waiting for vascular surgery, which includes varicose vein treatment, in a public hospital in Ireland. More than half of them had waited longer than six months.
National Treatment Purchase Fund, inpatient and day-case waiting list by specialty, September 2026
Your varicose vein treatment 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 varicose vein treatment.
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 vascular consultant you saw as a public patient, or a letter showing you are on the public waiting list; it should make clear that the treatment is for a medical reason.
We determine your eligibility
Ablement · within 1 to 2 working days
You get a clear yes or no on whether you are eligible for varicose vein treatment in Spain. The HSE pays only where the treatment is for a medical reason, not for appearance.
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 varicose vein treatment, 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 for a short trip: the treatment takes part of one day, and you stay nearby until the surgeon says you can fly; the hospital's written plan gives the timing.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
As varicose vein treatment is a day case, you can talk to your surgeon by video or phone before you travel, where the hospital offers it, or meet in person at the hospital. Then you have your treatment 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 treatment at home. Ask the surgeon before you leave what to wear and how active to be in the first weeks; 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 varicose vein treatment costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your varicose vein treatment, in writing before you commit. You pay the hospital directly, before the HSE pays you back.
The HSE
Pays you back up to what varicose vein treatment costs in the Irish public system, at the day-case rate, in 45 days on average (2024).
The detail for varicose vein treatment
The HSE pays back the cost up to what varicose vein treatment costs in an Irish public hospital. As you go home the same day, the day-case rate applies: the HSE's rate list prices varicose vein treatment as a day case, the form that is standard in Ireland. The HSE pays by the setting the treatment would have in Ireland, and an outpatient visit is paid only up to a small daily maximum, so we ask the hospital to admit you as a day case and to invoice it that way. The HSE sets the amount from the code for the treatment you actually have, whether laser, foam or surgery, so your proposal shows the expected refund for the treatment the surgeon proposes, and a prior notification form lets you ask the HSE for an indication of the amount before you travel. You get the money after the treatment, into your own account; your flights, your stay and anyone who travels with you are not covered. The price is agreed in writing before you accept, and if no hospital can offer one the refund covers, we write down the difference for you and the decision stays with you.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if varicose vein treatment in Spain can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
No commitment and no documents needed.
- Write to us: Send us a message →
- Want an answer now? Use the chat.
What varicose vein treatment involves
Varicose veins are surface veins in the leg whose valves no longer close, so blood pools and the veins bulge, ache and swell. The most common treatment today seals the faulty vein from the inside: under local anaesthetic, the surgeon guides a thin fibre into the vein with ultrasound and heats the vein with laser or radiofrequency so that it closes. Foam injections can seal smaller veins, and in some cases the vein is removed through small cuts instead. The surgeon decides which suits your veins.
You walk straight after the treatment and wear a compression stocking for a time. The blood finds its way back through the deep veins, which are healthy. The aim is an end to the aching and swelling and, over the following weeks, to the visible veins; new varicose veins can appear in later years.
Questions about varicose vein treatment
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 treatments does this cover?
Varicose veins are treated by sealing the vein from the inside with heat, by foam injections, or by surgery to remove the vein. The surgeon decides which suits you. The written proposal states which treatment the price covers.
Will the HSE pay it back?
Only when the treatment is for medical reasons and the Irish public system would provide it. Treatment for appearance alone is not paid back. We check your referral letter with you before anything else happens.
Can both legs be treated on one trip?
Sometimes. The surgeon decides whether both legs can be treated, and whether on the same day or a few days apart. The written proposal states which legs the price covers and when you can expect to fly home. The HSE pays one rate for each admission, whatever is done during it, so both legs on the same day are paid as one; where they are treated a few days apart, we ask the hospital to book each leg as its own day case with its own invoice, and your proposal shows the expected refund before you commit.
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
One free call, by video or phone. No commitment and no documents.
by video or phone, at a time you pick
Already spoken with us? Start your case →