Dear Sir,
In today’s edition, 4 May, Jason Moore’s article and that in the Britain and World section imply that a deal is on the cards for residents in Spain to mirror what Spanish (and others) get in UK.
In reality, Brits here don’t get much of a look in when it comes to benefits. We know many who have tried to claim benefits and come face-to-face with the Spanish "stone wall" and ended up getting nothing.
Then there’s health benefits. We are both registered with the NHS over here but, while I have yet to try any sort of claim for treatment of any kind, my other half, while experiencing trouble with her eyesight, booked an appointment at our local hospital as an NHS patients where she was curtly told she would just have to accept she would go blind sometime soon, then shown the door.
However, armed with the metaphorical "wad of cash" another, well known, hospital in Palma operated on both eyes over a period of a month and included many check-up visits and now her eyesight is much better.
As another example, her daughter who lives near Malaga went to see a friend who had badly broken her ankle. Malaga hospital said she needed an operation but she would have to go back to UK for this, they merely plastered her leg and sent her away with these words from hospital staff ringing in her ears - " After Brexit, you can even forget about basic treatment!"
Sounds very much like my own experience returning to my native Britain in 1981 after they sold the beautiful country of Rhodesia out to Robert Mugarbage. I was categorically refused any assistance whatsoever.
The only way David Davis could possibly ensure parity of care for both sides is to put a questionnaire on the government website for details of what Brits in Spain tried to get and how much success they had in their attempts.
If he then finds Britain is doling out help left, right and centre to Spaniards there and Brits here are getting next to nothing, then he knows he has to act again.
Regards
Brian Gatcombe
Costitx