Neurological Rehabilitation For Irish Patients.
Intensive inpatient neurological rehabilitation after Guillain-Barré syndrome, intensive care, brain or spine surgery and other nerve or muscle conditions, at a 287-bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Greece. Reimbursed by the HSE.
No referral or paperwork needed for the first call.
Neurological rehabilitation at Evexia Plus
Evexia Plus is a specialist Rehabilitation Hospital near Thessaloniki, Greece, where people from Ireland come for inpatient neurological rehabilitation after Guillain-Barré syndrome, intensive care or brain and spine surgery, and with motor neurone disease and other nerve and muscle conditions. A physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation leads your programme, supported by a neurologist, a pneumonologist and 24-hour medical and nursing cover. You have at least 3 hours of therapy a day, paced to your energy. There is no waiting list: admission can be arranged as soon as your records are reviewed. Under the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, the cost is reimbursable by the HSE.
- Led by
- A physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Therapy
- At least 3 hours a day, goals reviewed weekly
- Where
- Near Thessaloniki, Greece, about four hours' direct flight from Dublin
- Funding
- Reimbursable by the HSE under the EU Cross-Border Directive
- Start
- No waiting list, once your records are reviewed
How rehabilitation helps when nerves, muscles or the brain are affected
Timing and pacing matter most.
These conditions differ, but many leave the same problems: weakness, tiredness, numbness or pain, poor balance, and sometimes trouble swallowing, speaking or thinking.
After Guillain-Barré syndrome or intensive care, nerves regrow and muscles rebuild, usually over months. Rehabilitation keeps your body ready and rebuilds strength and stamina as recovery comes. After brain surgery, the brain can relearn, a process called neuroplasticity. CIDP, myopathies and motor neurone disease are long-term: there, rehabilitation protects function and comfort.
A stay helps most once you are medically stable and no longer getting worse, and therapy builds up gradually, because recovering nerves and muscles tire easily.
Neurological conditions we treat, and how rehabilitation helps
Rehabilitation after Guillain-Barré syndrome and CIDP
What it is
The immune system attacks the nerves, often after an infection, causing weakness that can stop you walking or breathing unaided. CIDP is a longer-lasting form.
What rehabilitation does
Guillain-Barré rehabilitation rebuilds strength and stamina without overtiring recovering nerves. IVIg is given on site if you need it.
Typical goals
Standing, walking, managing fatigue and pain, and self-care.
Weakness after intensive care or sepsis
What it is
Sepsis or a long time on a ventilator can damage nerves and muscles: critical illness polyneuropathy or myopathy. Sleep, memory and mood often suffer too (post-intensive care syndrome).
What rehabilitation does
Rehabilitation after sepsis or intensive care rebuilds strength step by step, with psychology support. Your programme is built around you. People with a tracheostomy or on ventilation are accepted, with each case reviewed.
Typical goals
Sitting, standing and walking again, and self-care.
After brain or spine surgery, including nervous-system tumours
What it is
Surgery for a tumour, a bleed or an aneurysm, or on the spine, can affect movement, balance, thinking, speech or swallowing.
What rehabilitation does
Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and neuropsychology, planned around radiotherapy or chemotherapy, never delaying it.
Typical goals
Independence in daily tasks, safer walking, and memory strategies.
Motor neurone disease (MND)
What it is
A progressive condition affecting the nerves that control movement, speech, swallowing and breathing.
What rehabilitation does
Rehabilitation cannot slow or reverse MND. Our inpatient stays focus on comfort, function, equipment and planning: gentle exercise that never pushes you to exhaustion, seating, communication aids and a FEES swallowing assessment, alongside your care at home.
Typical goals
Comfort, easier moving and communicating, safer eating, and a plan for home.
Peripheral nerve injuries
What it is
Damage to a nerve in the arm or leg, or to the brachial plexus, causing weakness, numbness, pain, or foot or wrist drop.
What rehabilitation does
Keeps joints and muscles ready while the nerve slowly regrows, rebuilds strength as movement returns, and manages pain, with orthoses where needed. On-site EMG helps follow recovery.
Typical goals
Better use of your hand or foot.
Polyneuropathies, including peripheral neuropathy
What it is
Damage to many nerves at once, from diabetes, chemotherapy, alcohol or other causes, bringing numb feet, pain and poor balance.
What rehabilitation does
Peripheral neuropathy rehabilitation trains balance, strength and walking, on land and in the pool.
Typical goals
Steadier walking and confidence on your feet.
Myopathies
What it is
Diseases of the muscles themselves, such as myositis or muscular dystrophy.
What rehabilitation does
Carefully dosed strength and endurance training, built up under supervision, with ways to save energy.
Typical goals
Keeping strength and independence, and pacing the day.
Vertebral fractures
What it is
A broken bone in the spine, from osteoporosis or an accident. If the spinal cord was damaged, see spinal cord injury rehabilitation.
What rehabilitation does
Pain management, safe movement, back strength, posture and balance work, with advice on bone health and falls.
Typical goals
Moving with less pain and walking safely.
Looking for help with functional neurological disorder? FND has its own page: FND rehabilitation.
Your neurological rehabilitation programme
Your physician plans the programme around your goals and reviews it with you every week. Most people use several of these services each day:
Physiotherapy and robotics
Strength, balance and walking, with robotic gait training and FES.
See the service
Occupational therapy
Daily tasks, saving energy, orthoses, wheelchair seating and planning for home.
See the service
Speech and swallowing
FEES swallowing assessment, swallowing therapy and communication aids.
See the service
Hydrotherapy
Therapy in three pools with hoist access, once your physician checks it is safe.
See the service
Psychology and neuropsychology
Memory, mood and adjustment, for you and your family.
See the service
Neuromodulation
Non-invasive stimulation alongside therapy, if your physician recommends it.
See the serviceDay and night, our medical team looks after breathing, pain, spasticity, and bladder and bowel care.
A typical day
If you tire easily, sessions are shorter, with rest between them. The aim is steady progress, never exhaustion.
Morning
Physiotherapy for strength and walking, then occupational therapy.
Midday
Lunch served at your bedside, then rest.
Afternoon
Hydrotherapy, speech and swallowing therapy or psychology, depending on your plan.
Evening
Time with your family in the gardens, the lounges or your room.
What to expect during your stay
In the first days, the team assesses you and agrees your goals with you, and with your family if you wish. Realistic goals might be:
Recovery is different for everyone, and we cannot promise a particular result. After Guillain-Barré syndrome or intensive care, improvement often continues at home. With MND, the aim is comfort and function. We review your goals weekly and tell you honestly what we see, including when progress is slow. Before you leave, occupational therapy prepares a plan for home, and we send a full report to your doctor in Ireland.
From the first call to coming home
Most people have never arranged care abroad. This is the whole route, so you know what happens next and who does it.
Before you travel
- 1
Talk to us
Call, message us on WhatsApp or use the form. We explain the Cross-Border Directive and what we need.
- 2
Send your records
A recent medical summary, your medication list and any recent scans. Our physician tells you honestly whether a stay is likely to help, now or later.
- 3
Referral and estimate
Ask your GP or public hospital consultant for a dated referral letter; we tell you what it should say. We send a written estimate in English before you commit.
Your stay
- 4
Choose your date
There is no waiting list. You choose the date, and we meet you at Thessaloniki airport.
- 5
Consultation and admission
The outpatient consultation with our physician the day before admission, then your programme starts.
- 6
Your stay
At least 3 hours of therapy a day, paced to your energy, with your goals reviewed every week.
Back home
- 7
Home and your claim
You go home with a plan for home, a full report for your doctor and every document the HSE claim needs.
How the HSE reimburses neurological rehabilitation
Neurological rehabilitation at Evexia Plus, for any condition on this page, is reimbursable by the HSE under the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive. You don't need a medical card or private insurance.
You pay the hospital
You pay Evexia Plus directly for your stay.
You claim from the HSE
With the documents we give you at discharge.
The HSE repays you
What you paid, up to what the same care would cost in the Irish public system.
What the HSE needs
- 01
A referral letter from your GP, or from a hospital consultant who sees you as a public patient.
- 02Our recommendation
An outpatient consultation, in person, dated after the referral. Have it with our physician in Greece the day before admission: one trip, and no wait for a clinic appointment in Ireland.
- 03Optional
Prior Notification gives an indicative figure, not a guarantee, and with current delays the HSE's reply can take months. We usually advise going ahead without it, because the HSE assesses every claim after treatment either way.
Reimbursable
- The inpatient programme (therapy, nursing care and your stay in the hospital)
- Medicines and tests during the stay
- The outpatient consultation at the HSE's rate
Not reimbursable
- Flights and other travel
- Family travel and accommodation outside the hospital
- Medicines you take home
Before you commit, our team sends a written estimate in English. At discharge, we give you every document the claim needs.
Your family can stay with you
Rehabilitation goes better with the people you love close by. One family member can stay with you free of charge, in your room or in nearby accommodation we arrange.
More relatives can stay in seaside hotels in Kallikratia, five minutes away, and a free shuttle bus runs to Thessaloniki. We collect you and your family from Thessaloniki airport, and take you back, at no cost.
Every member of our staff communicates in English, and speech and language therapy and psychology are delivered in fluent English. Meals are cooked in our own kitchen and planned by a dietician, including texture-modified meals.
See Evexia Plus before you travel.
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Questions about neurological rehabilitation
Can rehabilitation help after Guillain-Barré syndrome?
Yes. Rehabilitation is a central part of Guillain-Barré recovery, because many people are left with weakness, fatigue or pain that needs structured therapy. The best time for a stay is once the condition has stopped getting worse and you are medically stable, but still need help to move or care for yourself.
I'm out of intensive care but can't walk. Can rehab after ICU help?
Often, yes. Weakness after intensive care is common after sepsis or a long time on a ventilator. You don't need to be walking to be admitted, and people with a tracheostomy or on ventilation are accepted, with each case reviewed. Therapy rebuilds strength step by step, and psychology helps with sleep, memory and mood. Recovery can be slow, and our physician will be honest about what is realistic.
Can rehabilitation help after brain surgery or brain tumour removal?
Yes, for many people. Rehabilitation after brain surgery works on movement, balance, daily tasks, speech, swallowing, memory and attention. We plan your stay around radiotherapy or chemotherapy, never delaying it. The longer-term outlook depends on the type of tumour, and our physician will talk it through honestly.
Is rehabilitation worthwhile with motor neurone disease?
For some people, yes, but the aims are different. Rehabilitation cannot slow or reverse MND. An inpatient stay focuses on comfort, moving more easily, equipment and seating, communication aids, safer swallowing and planning for home, with support for your family, alongside your care at home. If the journey would cost you more than the stay would give, our physician will tell you.
How long does recovery take after Guillain-Barré syndrome or intensive care?
It is different for everyone. After Guillain-Barré syndrome, most people improve over many months, and some keep improving for years. Weakness after intensive care can also take months to settle. The length of your stay is set by the consultant at your outpatient consultation and reviewed every week with you. The HSE does not limit the number of weeks it reimburses; it caps the rate.
Can I arrange neurological rehabilitation from Waterford, Cork or Limerick?
Yes. The route is the same from Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Dublin and the rest of Ireland. You contact us, send your medical records by email, and ask your own GP or public hospital consultant for a referral letter. Our physician reviews the records and tells you honestly whether a stay is likely to help, and the outpatient consultation can take place in Greece the day before admission.
Does the HSE pay for neurological rehabilitation abroad?
Yes, under the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive. You pay the hospital directly, then the HSE repays what you paid, up to what the same care would cost in the Irish public system. You need a referral from your GP or a public hospital consultant and an outpatient consultation. Flights and family accommodation outside the hospital are not reimbursable.
Where does the outpatient consultation take place?
You can have it in Ireland with a public hospital consultant, or with our physician in Greece on the day before admission. We recommend the second: you make one trip and avoid waiting for a clinic appointment. Either way, it must take place after the date on your referral letter.
Can my family stay with me?
Yes. One family member stays free of charge, in your room or nearby accommodation we arrange. More relatives can stay in seaside hotels five minutes away, family can visit every day, and airport transfers are free for you and your family. Our psychology team supports family members too, which matters after a long illness.
