The island´s annual health care budget is in excess of 60 million euros

Health cards have been issued to 91,611 patients in Menorca

Verge del Toro. Emergency cases nearly double during the summer months

The majority of patients, 65,632, are aged between 15 and 65 years, with those under 14 years accounting for 13,484 cards and the over-65´s, 12,495

CHRISTINE M. WATTERSON.Maó

The Balearic Health Service, IB-Salut, has issued a total of 91,611 cards in Menorca, entitling their holders to free medical assistance. Expenditure on the island´s health care is growing, with an annual budget in excess of 60 million euros and a personnel wage bill which will reach 38 million euros this year.

According to figures released by the Menorca Health Authorities, the cards have been issued to: 13,484 children up to the age of 14 years; 65,632 to people between 15 and 65 years; 12,495 to the over-65´s; and 3,100 to citizens who are without resources. This latter category includes immigrants from outside the E.U. who are registered with their local Town Hall and who, although they have not paid into the system, are allowed to use the national health service if they are in financial difficulties.

Those who are entitled to the benefits of the national health service are: residents who are nationals of an E.U. country and tourists who are from other European Union countries and have the European health card - however, many of these have also taken out health insurance through their travel agents, in which case they can be treated at private clinics under agreements reached with the insurance companies.

However, it is a different matter for European citizens from non-E.U. countries (such as Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra, Norway, Iceland or Romania). If they are not registered with the local Town Hall nor lacking the means to pay and do not have a private health insurance, then they will sometimes be sent an invoice for the treatment received. Medical treatment can be quite expensive; in a recent case, a Swiss citizen, who has owned a second home in Binidalí since 1988, fell, breaking her leg and ankle, and had to have an operation in a private clinic. Her bill for treatment was 8,500 euros.

Claudio Triay, the head of the island´s health authority, has stressed that nobody in Menorca needing medical attention will be denied treatment, irrespective of their nationality or financial status. He pointed out that the patient will receive treatment before the paperwork is carried out. Triay believes that the Spanish system is exemplary, bearing in mind the resources necessary, especially in Menorca´s case when the influx of tourists means that reinforcements are needed during the summer months to deal with nearly double the normal number of emergencies.