Many thanks for the replies everyone.
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pickles53: I followed the thread you posted and found much of LWCARAB’s harrowing account to be pertinent to my own situation, most certainly on a personal level. I suppose the practical difference is that my mother desperately wants to return to the UK as a permanent resident. As RedLou points out below, however, whether she will be any happier is an open question. She is a UK citizen with a valid passport although as others have pointed out, this in itself will not necessarily entitle her to immediate NHS treatment.
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KevinL: Following on from this, I believe she has an EHIC card albeit one issued in the UK, if I remember rightly. The fact that Britain and Spain have a reciprocal healthcare arrangement is a plus, as is this: "Citizens who return to the UK on a settled basis will be classed as ordinarily resident, and will be eligible for free NHS care immediately."
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Starryuk: It certainly seems positive; I just have to find that EHIC card…
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Chemmy: That is indeed a useful link; much obliged.
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RedLou: I’m sorry to hear about your father. Very wise words: “What he was moaning about was illness, old age and what he wanted to return to was the happier past. [..] A lot of dementia sufferers talk endlessly about going home; often home is a metaphor for a place where they felt happy and safe.” I was thinking very much along these lines when I visited my mother last month and am still slightly conflicted as to whether this is the right course to take, but on balance I believe it is for the following reasons: She will be amongst Anglophone people and media (TV, radio etc.) and be more able to express her needs in her first language. Not having to take a 2,000-mile flight and a three-hour bus journey means I can visit her more frequently and be available immediately in case of emergencies; I will also be able to understand medical staff without the help of a translator as my basic Spanish is not really up to the task. She loathes the cooking in the care home and pines for British dishes; this worries me as she seems to eat very little and has lost weight quite noticeably. I also worry about the minimal amount of therapy, exercise, and stimulation on offer. She seems to be left alone in her room all day in her chair next to the window, and then carried back to bed at night. I’ve also noticed some of the nurses are quite perfunctory and simply reply “habla Español” when she tries to communicate with them, although I’m sure perfunctory and brusque behaviour is not unknown in the nursing profession the world over.
Realistically speaking, I can’t expect her to be much happier, just to feel less angry and more content. I think having me closer to hand would be a comfort and a help. Of course this may be a false hope as she still retains enough awareness to rage against the dying of the light and the situation in which she has been placed.
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I’m not looking for the NHS to shoulder the entire burden of my mother’s care but, as I said, funds are running low. At the moment I am paying around £1500 every month for the care home and this is depleting resources at an alarming rate. In March I applied for assistance from the Andalucian social security; they will subject my mother’s income to a means test and then cover a percentage of the care home costs, but the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly. Unless I can find a magic money tree in the garden I will have to sell her house to provide some breathing space and free up some capital, although there are unavoidable delays in obtaining the power of attorney required to set the process in motion. As I understand it, before I can get POA there would need to be a judicial ruling on her mental competence based on the official clinical report; I am told the latter will be delivered within the next two months, after which I can proceed to the next stage. In addition, POA would need to cover both jurisdictions i.e. the UK and Spain. Hoping against hope, I would still like to bring her back to the UK during my next visit in July.
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There are currently around 300,000 official British residents in Spain, many of whom are pensioners. However, according to the BBC and other sources the figure may be as high as a quarter of a million or more. There must be other people in a similar position to my mother and myself, given the economic crisis and the parlous state of the property market together with the simple fact that people are living to a greater age than ever before.