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Moving to Belgium with T1 child

M

Mumoftype1boy

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Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
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Before our 7yo was diagnosed 7 months ago we were planning on moving to Brussels. We still want to go but obviously it is a lot more complicated now! Looking for advice from anyone who has moved to Europe (Belgian ideally) with a child with T1 please. He is about to go onto an omnipod pump. We would move next summer to give us all time to get used to the pump first.
Do you have to pay for private healthcare?
Can you use Belgian health care (both my husband and I plan on working)?
How do schools fare with it?
We plan on staying for two years - and keeping our house in the UK, could we stockpile and stay with the NHS!?
All other advice welcomed.
Thanks in advance!
 
Mumoftype1boy said:
We plan on staying for two years - and keeping our house in the UK, could we stockpile and stay with the NHS!?
Click to expand...
No, you aren’t entitled to NHS healthcare when moving abroad as it is a residence based system. You won’t get 2 years worth of supplies and you won’t get checkups with UK doctors if you’re not living in the UK
 
Hello, I don't know how likely you will find another parent with a child with T1 who has done the same.
In some places in the EU treatment can be the same, or better.
If you are both working and pay taxes you can use their healthcare system, I am not sure how it works with children.
I would ask Omnipod if they supply there, abbot provide worldwide as do Dexcom.
 
It's very close and easy to pop back, I'd be very tempted to do what I did during placements abroad at Uni and ask nicely to be issued with 6 months' worth (or at least 3 months' worth) and then come back to restock.

You could probably do the reorder online and as long as someone can pick it up for you and store it safely not need to return quite so often.
 
As @Lucyr mentioned, you need to be resident in the UK to have access to NHS resources so you may come a cropper if you move to Belgium and try to get your son's diabetes supplies whilst you are away.
Regardless, I would not feel comfortable if my son's health care was in a different country to the one we live. What would happen if he had an issue with his diabetes management? What if you stockpiled his insulin and then he encountered a reaction to it? This has been reported by members in the past. Or if the insulin was damaged in transit and you need more at short notice? Or if there was a recall on Omnipods and you needed to restock?
It may sounds as if I am catastrophising but I think these are things I would consider for myself and I would be even more nervous if a child was involved.
 
As a matter of curiosity I wonder how "moving abroad" is defined in a legal sense. I was away for about 3/4 of a year, but I never considered myself to have moved abroad. Even if I'd been on a year placement (or longer) I don't think I'd consider that I'd moved abroad, though I suppose it depends what one plans to do at the end.

I was in Switzerland (further away/more expensive than Belgium to get back from) but the answer to all of the questions you pose was that if there were issues I'd book a flight and get back to the UK and if it was more immediate I'd pay for whatever was needed.

Just a thought anyway.
 
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