My Name is Meriem. I am a 28-year-old student from Tunisia who is studying for a master’s in IT Law at the University of Tartu. My journey in Estonia started in September of 2023. I arrived in a new country where I knew nothing and no one. I was eager to experience everything in Estonia, especially the snow! I come from a hot country and have never had the chance to experience snow, make snowmen or participate in a snowball fight. These activities were part of my expectations of living in a snowy country. I still remember the first time I saw the snow from my dorm room window, and I rushed outside to touch it and take pictures. I was unaware that my experience would not be limited to just playing in the snow. I would also experience the dark side of living in a snowy country.
My hardship started one day in November when I was coming back from the university to my dorm. It was dark and snowy, and I was walking with a classmate, discussing our upcoming homework and our impressions about the master’s programme. In a matter of seconds, I found myself lying on the ground with excruciating pain in my left wrist. You might have guessed it…I slipped on ice in the middle of town.
My classmate tried to help me up, but all the while, I was still trying to figure out what had happened and understand the source of the extreme pain that I never felt before in my life. At that moment, she suggested we go to a nearby pharmacy to seek help. We entered the pharmacy and tried to explain what happened. There were some language barriers in the beginning, but we managed to explain the situation. The pharmacist recommended a hand stabiliser and an ice pack, but he also said that we should go to the emergency room to get my hand checked. He recommended we go to the Tartu University Hospital and provided the location, which was really helpful as I would not have known where to go on my own.

I left the pharmacy wondering if I really should go to the hospital or maybe the pain would go away if I rested for a little bit. After giving it some thought and starting to feel more pain with the cold temperatures I decided to go get it checked. I ordered a Bolt and went to the emergency room. I was so worried because I had no one to accompany me, and it was my first experience at a hospital in a foreign country. I entered the hospital and was immediately welcomed by a nurse whom I was able to communicate with in English. She asked about my problem and directed me to registration. The registration lady asked for my documents, but since I had fallen on my way to the dorm, I didn´t have any of my documents on me. I only had a picture of my passport on my phone. It is always recommended to have a picture or a scan of all of your important documents while travelling abroad because you never know when you will need them. I used the pictures of my documents to register, and I was oriented to wait in front of the trauma room. I was worried about a lot of things at this point; the state of my hand, the time I would be spending in this hospital, and the price of this treatment.
One of my questions was answered immediately as I was called to the doctor’s office, and I was positively surprised by how fast the service was. I entered the room, and they asked me if I would like to use English, and I confirmed “yes”. I, unfortunately, know only two Estonian words, “tere” and “aitäh”, and I doubt that I can explain my situation using these two words. I explained the situation to the doctor and she checked my hand and asked me to get an X-ray in another room in the ER. My worry about the cost was getting worse as now there was also an X-ray to pay for, and as a jobless student, each euro counts.

I did the X-ray and went back to the doctor. And everything is digitalised in Estonia, so the X-ray went automatically to the doctor. I went back to the doctor hoping for good news or maybe slightly bad news… still hoping that it would be something minor. That is when I received the news that my wrist was fractured and I needed a cast for a whole month.

A nurse came and took me to another room, where they put the cast on my hand. This was the first time in my life that I fractured a bone. Needless to say, it was far from an enjoyable experience. Now, coming to the last question, it was time for payment. I was informed that I didn’t need to pay since it was emergency care. This was shocking to me as I really expected this to be expensive! The whole service was fast, and the doctor was super nice. She took a lot of time helping me with the registration process, trying her best to make sure I had all the necessary information about the diagnosis and the following check-ups.
Overall, leaving the painful experience aside, the health care in Estonia was fast, effective, and super cheap. Even when I went to another part of the hospital for weekly check-ups and X-rays I paid 20 euros for the visit and 23 euros for the X-ray. This was the total cost. Even this cost was later reimbursed by my health insurance (don´t forget to get all the receipts from the hospital to ask for reimbursement).
You would normally think that this would be the end of the story… I wish it was the end too. 2 months after removing my cast, I fractured my right elbow while trying to go from a sauna to a frozen lake to try this Estonian tradition of swimming in freezing water after sauna. At this point, I knew the drill and I went through the whole process all over again. The only difference was that, apparently, after using your insurance for the first time, it becomes automatically linked to the hospital system. So this time, I didn´t have to pay for anything at all, not even the weekly check-ups and the X-rays. I am not sure if this detail depends on the insurance or if it is a general rule. I was also not aware of this and was surprised when I was told that I didn´t have to pay like last time. At a certain point, I jokingly asked the doctor if this was a discount because I broke my hand twice in 3 months.
This summarises my experience with the healthcare system in Estonia. I hope that you will not need it, but just in case, I want you to be reassured that the healthcare in Tartu, Estonia, is fast and affordable. The doctors are highly qualified as well. Today, writing this blog with my two healed hands, I cannot be more grateful for being provided with the required treatment when I needed it. This cannot be taken for granted.
If you find yourself in need of Emergency health care you can use the following link for more information:
https://www.kliinikum.ee/en/for-the-patient/emergency-help/
Or call 731 8111 for more info

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