SOS doctor in the Netherlands! My experience in Maastricht

Feeling not so good in a foreign country (especially if you are just arrived or you are a tourist) could a be a not so lovely experience and you can start having questions like:

Where can I find a doctor?
Will the doctor speak English?
Is the hospital the best option?

Everything is new and, even if finding a proper doctor in the Netherlands is not so hard, everything could seem complicated because maybe you don't feel exactly good!

For people living in the Netherlands, a private health insurance is mandatory. But what if you are simple a turist or an Erasmus?
During my permanence in Maastricht I went a couple of time to GP and now I want share with you my experience as european citizen in the Netherlands!

NB: if it's really an emergency remember to call the european emergency number 112, please!

The first good news is that in the Netherlands there are many english speaking people including the doctors.  A friend of mine that lives in Amsterdam has an English speaking GP and even in a not so big city like Maastricht I've found an English speaking doctor without any problem.

I my case I aways anticipate the money for the doctor and for the medicine (and I asked for the rembursment in italy). So, remember to take always all the bills!!!

However, if you need a GP you have two alternatives: go to the hospital or searching on Internet :)

Hospital
This could be the most obvious solution: you can go to the emergency and ask for a family doctor. I remember that this option was really expensive. I've checked the price of a hospital near my house and the cost of a visit was about 80 euros!!

Search for a doctor on internet
Google can be really your friend if you need a doctor! The word general practitioner can be translated in dutch as "huisarts", so looking for huishart plus the name of the street and the city where you live, can help to find a doctor in your area. Once you found the nearest one just call, explain you problem an book an appointment. The consult is cheaper that the hospital.

My experience
Why I needed a doctor? What happened? One day I got a terrible cystitis and I was really bad...
I searched on google one GP and I booked an appointment with the secretary, that was really kind and helpful! One hour later I was in the studio of the doctor :)
They gave a test for verifying the infection and they prescribed me drugs. In the building of the doctor there was also a pharmacy: the secretary just sent my prescription and I just retired my medicine on the ground floor after the visit! I paid around 27 euros plus the cost of the medicine.
I returned to the doctor other times for a checkup and in general I had a really good experience!

If you also had an experience with doctors in the Netherlands as non-citizen and you want to share it with other don't hesitate to leave a comment! Thanks!