I forgot to mention that When my dad was here, I avoided the hospital for tests he had to do and I took him to a private place which is fast and not expensive at all and another partly private clinic where he could do any test and the NHS would take over for the payment as he was over a certain age and was a pensioner. And the service is brilliant. All results in real time. The clinic for certain conditions is covered by the NHS so it’s a perfect place to avoid queues and lots of people.
Hi Claire. I live in a Tuscany that is definitely not the North. Healthcare: I ended up in Hospital near Caserta when I was on holiday here with my parents in 1968. I was 8 and a half. They took good care of me and I still remember the words of the specialist when I was dismissed: “ As soon as you are back in England see your doctor and ask him or her to read my letter. It is of the utmost importance that your son is operated as soon as possible “. Upon our return we had a to and fro with the GP who kept on insisting that it was not imperative that I should undergo an operation. To cut a long story short I ended up having to be operated urgently as I reached the stage of peritonitis which will kill you if you are not promptly operated. I was operated in England and was in hospital for nearly 3 weeks. It was ok in the kids ward. Since living in Italy, I have undergone 3 operations in the last 9.5 years. I have no complaints at all. I have always had my own room with bathroom and only once was I sharing a double room with another patients with en-suite bathroom. Last year after a major operation I was also offered free rehabilitation 2 hours from where I was operated in a Private rehab centre with a single room with en-suite bathroom that resembled more a hotel than anything close to a hospital. Full board totally free of charge. Plus American personal physiotherapists that were very professional. There were Italians as well under who they worked as part of their overseas training program. 5 years ago my sister had a relapse in here MS condition and she had to spend one year in Nottingham to get back on track. I brought my father to Italy and he had the habit of wanting to go to hospital every now and again. My experience in Italy with him by far overtakes the English State of the NHS in the last 10 or so years. I have spent weeks in English hospitals with my father and mother. A&E at Xmas or New Year? Forget it! My dad and I spent 36 hours on an ambulance stretcher/ bed in the jam packed corridor and nobody even considered him. Just told to wait. We chose to leave by signing but they refused. One hospital in a london I am totally pleased with is the Royal Brompton in Chelsea. Same exact rooms as in Italy in the new wing. My father had cardiac arrest and they immediately did the reanimation as it is this hospital’s policy to. In many other hospitals the first thing they tell family is that they do not resuscitate…… but this hospital acts in exactly the same way as in Italy. And the patients live another day. My father lived another 10 years! I have experienced a few arrests in England and a few in Italy. The Brompton = perfect. Italian hospitals that I know = likewise. Other hospitals in England = far from. First of all massive wards! And patients let to wander around everywhere and often interfering and annoying other patients. Silly pay tv that never works and keeps asking for a top up. No normal tv. I have never seen one in England except in waiting rooms where the doctor spills the beans about what your family member has. That kind of waiting room. I must say that my dad liked how he was treated in Italy. He was a bit out of it though because of confusion but he liked the food here in the hospital. Here he slant absolutely max 2.5 days. In Uk usually from 4 days to 1 week. For the same issues. I managed to get a brilliant analysis of his general geriatric condition and gave me many suggestions.
Thank you for sharing your experiences . Yes the NHS in the UK is sadly not what it once was but I’m pleased to hear that the experiences you’ve had here in Italy have been better!
Thankfully I have an extensive skill set(s). Although near retirement age, I hope to use these skills to help my particular local economy after all my move is complete. I have no issue getting my hands dirty either. Maybe teach, mentor or lead by example.
I'm in Lodi - just outside Milan. I've recently had to use the NHS to see a dermatologist (skin specialist) and do a blood test. Everything from booking appointments to the actual visits went smoothly. There's a new digital system up and running for Lombardy, but I went to the local hospital instead - got a queue number, paid the surcharges ('ticket'), and turned up at a given date and time. For my visit to a specialist, I was sent to a different hospital in another small town within the same province - everything worked efficiently.
I agree. I live in Cremona and must say that everything is very efficient if you know how to use the technology. For someone who grew up in the UK things can seem very long winded if you don't know the procedures. Having said that I booked a gastropy with a specialist through the national health care system and had to wait 8 months!
I have been in the 90th in england many time. I miss that time . But was fun time in italy and england wish younger can have good time like we used do.
After 25 years in Italy I do miss the good old english breakfast, steak and kidney pie and fish and chips. At least I can buy the good old PG tips online.
Excellent info for who wants to move here. In answer to your question. I live in the north (over 40 yrs).... Anyway, my experience with the health system has been nothing but excellent, I really can't fault it. Funnily enough I found as a foreigner that I got that little bit of extra special attention, foreigners were a "novelty" when I first moved here. However, in later years it has dwindled a bit and waiting times are longer but on the whole I'm still satisfied with it, compared to the UK NHS which was the envy of the world at one time. I only know through family members that it's gone to pot....!!! Many people from the south come to the north for hospital treatment, especially to Bergamo where I reside.....❤
I work in Information Technology in the US and I am wondering if Italy would accept my IT Certifications (Microsoft / CompTIA) from America, or if Italy requires I get a declaration of value for them to be recognized in Italy? Can someone who knows please chime in? Also would love to know how difficult it is to obtain an IT job in Italy as an older worker (I do have dual US / Italian citizenship so I do not require a Visa for anything). Thank you to anyone who can answer this!
I hope someone can help with advice regarding this sector. I would imagine in terms of age - it all depends on the company. I have heard people tell me that they have found it more difficult to get a job when they are older here but not everyone will have the same experience.
I can tell you only good experiences from pescara hospitals. There are a lot of patents so the doctors are busy running around but they do a great job.
I forgot to mention that When my dad was here, I avoided the hospital for tests he had to do and I took him to a private place which is fast and not expensive at all and another partly private clinic where he could do any test and the NHS would take over for the payment as he was over a certain age and was a pensioner. And the service is brilliant. All results in real time. The clinic for certain conditions is covered by the NHS so it’s a perfect place to avoid queues and lots of people.
Ah that’s good to know!
Hi Claire. I live in a Tuscany that is definitely not the North.
Healthcare: I ended up in Hospital near Caserta when I was on holiday here with my parents in 1968. I was 8 and a half. They took good care of me and I still remember the words of the specialist when I was dismissed: “ As soon as you are back in England see your doctor and ask him or her to read my letter. It is of the utmost importance that your son is operated as soon as possible “. Upon our return we had a to and fro with the GP who kept on insisting that it was not imperative that I should undergo an operation. To cut a long story short I ended up having to be operated urgently as I reached the stage of peritonitis which will kill you if you are not promptly operated. I was operated in England and was in hospital for nearly 3 weeks. It was ok in the kids ward.
Since living in Italy, I have undergone 3 operations in the last 9.5 years. I have no complaints at all. I have always had my own room with bathroom and only once was I sharing a double room with another patients with en-suite bathroom. Last year after a major operation I was also offered free rehabilitation 2 hours from where I was operated in a Private rehab centre with a single room with en-suite bathroom that resembled more a hotel than anything close to a hospital. Full board totally free of charge. Plus American personal physiotherapists that were very professional. There were Italians as well under who they worked as part of their overseas training program.
5 years ago my sister had a relapse in here MS condition and she had to spend one year in Nottingham to get back on track. I brought my father to Italy and he had the habit of wanting to go to hospital every now and again. My experience in Italy with him by far overtakes the English State of the NHS in the last 10 or so years. I have spent weeks in English hospitals with my father and mother. A&E at Xmas or New Year? Forget it! My dad and I spent 36 hours on an ambulance stretcher/ bed in the jam packed corridor and nobody even considered him. Just told to wait. We chose to leave by signing but they refused.
One hospital in a london I am totally pleased with is the Royal Brompton in Chelsea. Same exact rooms as in Italy in the new wing. My father had cardiac arrest and they immediately did the reanimation as it is this hospital’s policy to. In many other hospitals the first thing they tell family is that they do not resuscitate…… but this hospital acts in exactly the same way as in Italy. And the patients live another day. My father lived another 10 years! I have experienced a few arrests in England and a few in Italy. The Brompton = perfect. Italian hospitals that I know = likewise.
Other hospitals in England = far from. First of all massive wards! And patients let to wander around everywhere and often interfering and annoying other patients. Silly pay tv that never works and keeps asking for a top up. No normal tv. I have never seen one in England except in waiting rooms where the doctor spills the beans about what your family member has. That kind of waiting room.
I must say that my dad liked how he was treated in Italy. He was a bit out of it though because of confusion but he liked the food here in the hospital. Here he slant absolutely max 2.5 days. In Uk usually from 4 days to 1 week. For the same issues. I managed to get a brilliant analysis of his general geriatric condition and gave me many suggestions.
Thank you for sharing your experiences . Yes the NHS in the UK is sadly not what it once was but I’m pleased to hear that the experiences you’ve had here in Italy have been better!
Thankfully I have an extensive skill set(s). Although near retirement age, I hope to use these skills to help my particular local economy after all my move is complete. I have no issue getting my hands dirty either. Maybe teach, mentor or lead by example.
Wonderful!
Beautiful video & thank you.
Thank you!
I'm in Lodi - just outside Milan. I've recently had to use the NHS to see a dermatologist (skin specialist) and do a blood test.
Everything from booking appointments to the actual visits went smoothly. There's a new digital system up and running for Lombardy, but I went to the local hospital instead - got a queue number, paid the surcharges ('ticket'), and turned up at a given date and time. For my visit to a specialist, I was sent to a different hospital in another small town within the same province - everything worked efficiently.
I agree. I live in Cremona and must say that everything is very efficient if you know how to use the technology. For someone who grew up in the UK things can seem very long winded if you don't know the procedures. Having said that I booked a gastropy with a specialist through the national health care system and had to wait 8 months!
Wonderful to know - thank you for sharing!
I have been in the 90th in england many time. I miss that time . But was fun time in italy and england wish younger can have good time like we used do.
After 25 years in Italy I do miss the good old english breakfast, steak and kidney pie and fish and chips. At least I can buy the good old PG tips online.
Haha yes!
Excellent info for who wants to move here. In answer to your question. I live in the north (over 40 yrs).... Anyway, my experience with the health system has been nothing but excellent, I really can't fault it. Funnily enough I found as a foreigner that I got that little bit of extra special attention, foreigners were a "novelty" when I first moved here. However, in later years it has dwindled a bit and waiting times are longer but on the whole I'm still satisfied with it, compared to the UK NHS which was the envy of the world at one time. I only know through family members that it's gone to pot....!!! Many people from the south come to the north for hospital treatment, especially to Bergamo where I reside.....❤
Thank you and thanks for sharing your experiences too! I agree that the NHS in the UK is really not what it used to be.
Cara Signorina....very informative...Nice👍
Grazie mille!
You're absolutely spot on, 100%.
Happy 2025!
Thank you! Happy New Year!
I work in Information Technology in the US and I am wondering if Italy would accept my IT Certifications (Microsoft / CompTIA) from America, or if Italy requires I get a declaration of value for them to be recognized in Italy? Can someone who knows please chime in? Also would love to know how difficult it is to obtain an IT job in Italy as an older worker (I do have dual US / Italian citizenship so I do not require a Visa for anything). Thank you to anyone who can answer this!
I hope someone can help with advice regarding this sector. I would imagine in terms of age - it all depends on the company. I have heard people tell me that they have found it more difficult to get a job when they are older here but not everyone will have the same experience.
I can tell you only good experiences from pescara hospitals. There are a lot of patents so the doctors are busy running around but they do a great job.
Good to know - thank you!
Buon Inizio anno hai sicuramente mangiato tanto e visto dei fuochi meravigliosi a Palermo