Olive Begg is 77, great fun and always up for a good chat. The retired bookkeeper from Wicklow, an expert craftswoman in her retirement, says she was blown away by her experience with Healthcare Abroad. “This is just my third time in hospital; the other two occasions where when I was giving birth to my two children,” says Olive, proudly. She has always been in good health – but then her knees began giving her serious trouble and she decided to call Healthcare Abroad. “I was in awful pain with my right knee.

It was very very painful and I had trouble walking and trouble sleeping. “I am so glad I called Healthcare Abroad. It was the best call to make. The level of service from start to finish was absolutely outstanding. “The surgeon Dr Jordy van Rijn explained everything to me on the first consultation and checked in with me again several times after surgery. “The entire hospital team including the nurses were outstanding. The Healthcare Abroad team – the carers and drivers – were superb and couldn’t do enough for you. “The one outstanding thing is the amazing aftercare programme.

The physiotherapy team at the HCB Hospital in Denia was brilliant. You just couldn’t get this level of care at home.” Like a lot of people Olive has her view on the Irish health system, but would never criticise frontline staff. “Just look at this hospital in Denia. It’s state-of-the-art and brilliantly run. It cost €60M to build. Imagine if we built one in each of the 26 counties….it would cost a lot less to do that than all the money wasted on the new Children’s Hospital, which was built in the wrong location by the way.”

Olive Begg travelled to Spain with Healthcare Abroad under the EU Cross Border Directive scheme. The HSE will reimburse all her medical costs around 16 weeks after she flies back to Ireland.

Healthcare Abroad is Ireland’s only agency rated 5-star by its patients and cares for more patients each month in its EU hospitals than any other. We are the only agency to offer 10 or more physio sessions after orthopaedic surgery.