Doctors and hospitals to tourists: We are ready

COVID-19 has been hard on the public healthcare systems – as well as on holiday destinations. However, the SOS International network of medical suppliers abroad assure us that tourists can be confident that they will be able to see a doctor or go to hospital in the event that they fall sick or are injured during their holiday this summer.

SOS International has a fairly extensive international network of doctors, clinics and hospitals which is continuously adjusted and maintained. This means that SOS International has a good knowledge of hospitals and doctors – especially in destinations where there are many Nordic travellers.

As the world slowly opens up and travel restrictions are relaxed, many may hesitate because they think of how bad the situation was with hospitals and healthcare systems being under pressure while the pandemic was at its worst.

- We constantly monitor our supplier network. So far, there have only been a few changes after COVID-19 and, where clinics or hospitals have closed, we have found replacements in the same area, says Karin Tranberg.

Especially at the classic holiday destinations in Southern Europe are doctors and clinics reported to be ready to receive Scandinavian patients with open arms.

- However, maybe you need to prepare to be a little more patient that usual. The healthcare systems need a little time to stabilise after COVID-19, says Karin Tranberg.

Read more: The alarm centre is ready to help

Prognosis for the summer of 2021
Both SOS International’s alarm centre as well as the doctors and clinics at destinations are ready to provide assistance to Nordic travellers with everything from sprained ankles to intestinal bugs. At the moment, the question is how great the need will be – How many will go abroad during summer 2021? By and large, the water is divided by three prognoses:

• The long months of isolation, restrictions and lock-downs mean that we long to go abroad, live and experience. We will travel even more to make up for lost time as the world opens up to us again
• The pandemic has taught us that we can easily consume and travel less and that living more sustainably is not an insurmountable challenge. For this reason, we will travel less in future than we did before the pandemic
• We will travel as much as before – However, it will be some years before we are back at pre-COVID-19 levels

Whatever scenario will dominate the future, SOS International will be ready to handle travel assistance and keep a watchful eye on billing and costs.