Medical Translation in Bruges: AZ Sint-Jan, Zeebrugge Port and Medical Tourism

Bruges treats thousands of foreign patients every year: British and Dutch medical tourists drawn by the dental and ophthalmology clinics, sailors and dockers injured in the port of Zeebrugge, English-speaking expatriates settled in the region. Medical translation in Bruges responds to these concrete realities: repatriation files, accident reports for foreign insurers, multilingual consents and EU insurance forms.

Bruges, a city of care for international patients

The AZ Sint-Jan Brugge, with more than 1,000 beds, is the reference hospital of West Flanders. Its trauma, cardiac surgery and intensive care departments regularly receive foreign patients, whether tourists who are the victims of an accident, expatriates in a medical emergency or patients transferred from other European countries. The AZ Sint-Lucas Brugge, specialised in particular in oncology and neurology, completes the Bruges offering for complex care.

Medical tourism is a well-established reality in Bruges. Belgian dental care, considerably less expensive than in the United Kingdom or the Netherlands, attracts thousands of British and Dutch patients each year. Many Bruges dental clinics have developed processes adapted to English-speaking patients: translated quotes, bilingual consent forms and post-operative correspondence in English. Ophthalmology (refractive surgery, cataract treatment) follows the same logic. In this context, a fast and reliable medical translation is not a luxury: it is a condition for the safety of care.

The port of Zeebrugge, one of the major ports of the North Sea, also generates a specific medical demand. Sailors of all nationalities who transit through or temporarily reside in the region may need urgent medical care. In the event of a work accident, the repatriation of a sailor who died at sea or a seriously injured port worker, the medical documents must be quickly translated for the shipowners, maritime insurers, families and consulates. The Polish and Romanian communities, very present in the logistics and port sector of the Bruges region, also regularly call on medical translations in these languages.

Types of medical documents translated in Bruges and in the region

• Medical records for foreign patients: hospitalisation reports, discharge letters and prescriptions translated from the AZ Sint-Jan or the AZ Sint-Lucas into English, Dutch or French for patients returning to their country of origin
• Accident reports for sailors and dockers of the port of Zeebrugge: medical reports, expert reports and incapacity certificates translated into English, Polish, Romanian or the languages of the countries of origin for the shipowners and maritime insurers
• International repatriation files: a complete documentary set in the event of death at sea or a serious accident, including the death certificate, the autopsy report and the consular documents, translated for the families and the authorities of the country concerned
• Multilingual dental and ophthalmology consents: informed consent forms translated into English, Polish and Romanian for the patients of the specialised Bruges clinics welcoming an international clientele
• Radiology reports for foreign insurers: translation of imaging reports (X-ray, MRI, scanner) intended for British, Dutch or Polish insurance companies covering their nationals treated in Bruges
• EU health insurance forms (S2/P2): translation and explanation of the European forms for the coverage of care abroad for patients who benefit from the mobility of care in the EU

Emergency medical translation and mobility of care in the EU

Directive 2011/24/EU on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare has considerably facilitated medical mobility in the European Union. A Dutch patient treated at the AZ Sint-Jan Brugge can have their care reimbursed by their home health insurer, provided they have the appropriate medical documents. TheS2 form (formerly E112) authorises scheduled care abroad, while the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers urgent care. In both cases, the Bruges medical documents often have to be translated to be understood by the insurance funds of the patient's country of origin.

For sailors, the framework is governed by the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), which requires shipowners to provide medical care for their crews. In the event of prolonged hospitalisation or medical repatriation from Bruges or Zeebrugge, the shipowner and their P&I insurer (Protection & Indemnity) require medical reports translated into English as quickly as possible. Our maritime medical translators know this procedure and can mobilise a translation team within a few hours.

For work accidents in the port of Zeebrugge, the declarations to Fedris (the Belgian Work Accidents Fund) must be in Dutch, but the medical reports intended for foreign insurers or consulates often have to be translated quickly. Speed and accuracy are vital stakes here: a poorly translated report can delay compensation or complicate a repatriation.

Indicative turnaround times and rates for medical translations in Bruges

The express service (delivery in 4 to 8 hours) is available for urgent medical reports intended for shipowners, P&I insurers and families in situations of repatriation or serious accident. VAT not applicable (art. 44 §3 Belgian VAT Code).