European destination with good children's healthcare

[Merrow]

We're braving going abroad next year for the first time with DS2 (who will be 3 by the time we go on holiday). He has a lung condition and had a truly horrific hospital stay last year after catching something, so I'm particularly anxious about access to facilities if something does happen - I don't want to be in a situation where he has to be airlifted to a paediatric intensive care unit. However, I'm really struggling to find information! All I've really determined so far is to avoid Southern Italy. Are there any sites/travel agents that focus on traveling for people with health conditions?

I’d go for Spain or France, OP. One of my best friend’s DC has a similar condition, hence they only holiday in places with very good standards of healthcare should anything happen to him. They usually rotate on Marbella, south of France and Florida. Her DH also happens to be an anaesthetist, specialising in PICU so I’d definitely trust his opinion!

Mallorca, particularly around Palma. The hospital in Palma is amazing. Massively better healthcare than the UK. Just make sure your insurance covers EVERYTHING.

For me that would rule out any islands and I'd be sticking to the mainland. There's a fantastic children's hospital in Barcelona for example if you wanted Spain (staying on the coast somewhere nearish?).
Germany has excellent children's hospitals in all the major cities. That would mean more of a lake/forest holiday.

Sorry, not hugely helpful but maybe someone else will be along with better info!
I hope you can have a well deserved and relaxing holiday

I think you need to be somewhere you will be able to understand what the doctors are saying. Don’t assume their English will be good enough to discuss medical conditions. My DH was desperately ill in Montana. We were a long way from home, family and friends but everyone spoke English. Also, will your travel insurance cover his pre-existing conditions? Personally I’d stick to the UK.

I have some experience of the healthcare system in Spain. It's important to appreciate that you can't assume that doctors in Spain will speak English, so unless you speak Spanish, you could well encounter a language barrier in a Spanish hospital.

My experience of Germany is that Germans educated to degree level almost always have at least some knowledge of English. So if your only language is English, I would say the risk of encountering a language barrier is significantly higher in Spain compared to Germany.

At risk of stating the obvious, most travel insurance policies will not cover claims relating to pre-existing medical conditions. So you need to find a company that does offer cover for pre-existing conditions, declare your son's condition and get written confirmation that it will be covered. If travelling to an EU country, you should also get a GHIC for your son.

Thank you @Cappuccino5 - that's exactly the sort of insider knowledge I really appreciate and have been searching for!

That's really good news about Palma too - Mallorca was somewhere DS1 has enjoyed in the past, but I had assumed we'd be better off on the mainland.

I take on board all the practical comments about language / insurance - I'd definitely be going with a specialist insurance company to make sure that there was no doubt that he was covered. My own language skills aren't good enough, but my friend is Spanish so if we do end up going there I'll ask her to write out his medical history for me so I can at least provide that context quickly. I have all his medical notes on my phone, so if there are any queries about his previous admissions at least I can provide all the charts etc.

Honestly @Rocknrollstar I'd be happy sticking to the UK, and demanded it this year when DP thought we'd be fine to go abroad as long as we were confident about the healthcare system. DS2 has now been discharged from all the services that were monitoring him, and is doing very well. It's very hard for me to see what is an irrational decision fuelled by health anxiety surrounding him (which, despite plenty of therapy, I can't see dissipating anytime soon) and what is reasonable precaution.