Aller en France...? Sacré bleu!
if, at first, you don't succeed...
I couldn't sit passively and wait for the NHS to offer treatment one day, mañana mañana. The time came to research again - this time internationally, starting with in depth conversations with Florida (multi-nut OIT, a delightful team, highly responsive, a reasonable price... but so far away). And then - bingo! - La France. They offered all the same great things as Florida, but sat at the end of a 2 hour train journey and didn't require a nine week stay without any form of national health!
I couldn't wait for the NHS to offer treatment one day, mañana mañana. The time came to research again and - bingo! - La France.
Tracking down which hospital wasn't as easy as I'd hoped - for some reason it seemed to be a well kept secret to us Brits. And then I found them: l'hôpital Saint Vincent de Paul. Hurrah! The centre d'allergologie, and the delightful Dr Pelletier de Chambure.
I've now come to realise this wasn't easy to locate because it is merely an allergy department within a regular (but excellent) hospital. No, there's no fancy PR page to promote their services. No, it's not a private offering. And yes, it's a hospital service accessible to the French, free of charge. Let me say that again. Free of charge. I'll get the smelling salts.
I spoke with Dr Pelletier via email (she is fluent in English) and then via video consultation. I learned about their process and timings, and what to expect. The call took less than 40 minutes.
At the end of it, with steely determination yet somewhat extravagant butterflies in my tummy - I booked our first hospital day in Lille: 17th August 2021.
With steely determination yet somewhat extravagant butterflies in my tummy - I booked our first hospital day in Lille.
Now for the small matter of logistics...
Transport [Eurostar]
Accommodation [airb&b]
Insurance [annual travel insurance]*
European national health [GHICs]
Hospital paperwork [daunting at first but actually OK]
COVID-related choreography**
*I couldn't find an insurance policy that would cover any costs associated with medical treatment abroad.
**I shan't bore you with the details of all the COVID-related hoops, hurdles and frankly sniper rifles I had to dodge to get to France and back in 2021. Suffice to say, a year where there isn't a global pandemic could be rather more pleasant.
One final note: the allergy team support staff, utterly delightful and experienced as they are, do not speak English. My rusty A-level French, Google Translate and a printed quick-reference cheat sheet helped me a lot.
Comments