Paediatric Rehabilitation For Irish Patients.
Inpatient rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy, brain injury or dyspraxia, at a 287-bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Greece. At least 3 hours of therapy a day, with you beside your child. Reimbursed by the HSE.
No referral or paperwork needed for the first call.
Paediatric rehabilitation at Evexia Plus
Evexia Plus is a specialist Rehabilitation Hospital near Thessaloniki, Greece, where families from Ireland come for intensive paediatric rehabilitation as inpatients. We treat children with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury (including paediatric stroke), hypoxic-ischaemic injury, developmental coordination disorder (dyspraxia), developmental delay and fine motor difficulties, and children recovering after a brain tumour. A physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation leads your child's programme and works closely with your child's paediatrician in Ireland. Your child has paediatric medical and nursing cover, and at least 3 hours of therapy a day. There is no waiting list. 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 children with cerebral palsy, brain injury and dyspraxia
Children are still growing and learning, so their rehabilitation is built around play, school, family life and the skills your child needs next.
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition affecting movement and posture, caused by injury to the developing brain. Cerebral palsy therapy does not cure it, but the right practice can improve how your child moves, uses their hands and manages daily tasks.
After a brain injury, a stroke, a hypoxic-ischaemic injury or a brain tumour, children can regain skills with focused practice. Attention, memory and tiredness often affect school as much as movement, so therapy for children after brain injury covers these too.
Dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder (DCD), makes coordinated movement hard: handwriting, dressing, sport. Developmental delay and fine motor difficulties affect similar skills. Our approach teaches the actual skill, then practises it at home and school.
How we support your child's progress
Goals your child chooses
Task-based training around a few clear goals, agreed with you and your child and reviewed every week.
Enough practice
At least 3 hours of therapy a day, mostly active and playful, then a home programme to keep it going.
Hand and arm
Our occupational therapists use constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) and two-handed training, built into games and daily tasks.
Physiotherapy and gait
Daily paediatric physiotherapy, treadmill training with heart-rate monitoring, and robotic gait training sized for children where appropriate.
Spasticity
Stretching and positioning, casting, orthotics and standing practice, with robotic gait training sized for children and warm-water pool sessions.
Parents, home and school
You join sessions and a daily handover, and leave with a written home programme and strategies for school. We coordinate with your child's school in Ireland.
Water
Children's hydrotherapy sessions in our three-pool complex, alongside therapy on land. Our physician first checks the pool is safe for your child, for example around wounds or seizures.
Your child's paediatric rehabilitation programme
A Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician plans the programme around your child's goals, leads the team and reviews progress with you every week. Most children work with several of these services each day:
Physiotherapy and robotics
Balance, walking and strength, through play and gait training.
See the service
Occupational therapy
Hand use, dressing, eating, play and handwriting, with two-handed training.
See the service
Speech and swallowing
Communication and swallowing, with communication aids (AAC) where needed.
See the service
Hydrotherapy
Children's sessions in three pools, using the Halliwick and Bad Ragaz methods.
See the service
Psychology and neuropsychology
Attention, memory, behaviour and mood, and support for your family.
See the serviceA typical day
Sessions are shorter for younger children, and the day is planned around your child's energy and sleep.
Morning
Children's physiotherapy, then occupational therapy, made as playful as possible.
Midday
Lunch together, then a proper rest.
Afternoon
Speech and language therapy, then hydrotherapy or psychology.
Evening
Family time in the gardens, the lounges or your child's room.
What to expect during your child's stay
In the first days, the team assesses your child and agrees goals with you both. Realistic goals might be:
Every child is different, and we cannot promise a particular result. Therapy does not cure cerebral palsy or dyspraxia, and gains last when practice continues at home. We track progress, review the goals with you every week and tell you honestly what we see, including when progress is slow. Before you leave, you receive a written home programme and strategies for school, and we send a full report to your child's GP or paediatrician 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, send a WhatsApp message or use the form. We explain how the Cross-Border Directive works.
- 2
Send your child's records
A recent medical summary, the medication list and any recent scans. Our physician tells you honestly whether a stay is likely to help.
- 3
Referral and estimate
Ask your child's 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
No waiting list, so you can plan around school. 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 child's programme starts.
- 6
Your child's stay
At least 3 hours of therapy a day, with you taking part and the goals reviewed every week.
Back home
- 7
Home and your claim
You go home with a home programme, strategies for school and every document the HSE claim needs.
How the HSE reimburses paediatric rehabilitation
Paediatric rehabilitation at Evexia Plus 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 child's GP, or from a hospital consultant who sees your child 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 child's 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.
You can stay with your child
Children do best with a parent close by. One parent stays free, in your child's room or in nearby accommodation we arrange.
A second parent, brothers and sisters can stay in seaside hotels in Kallikratia, five minutes away, and visit every day. Airport transfers are free for your family, and a free shuttle bus runs to Thessaloniki.
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. Our psychology team supports parents and siblings too.
See Evexia Plus before you travel.
Photos and reels from the therapy halls and the pools. Follow us for a closer look.
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Questions about paediatric rehabilitation
Waiting for therapy at home? Can intensive therapy help my child?
Often it can, if your child has clear goals. Children need many hours of active practice to reach a goal, more than weekly therapy usually allows. A stay gives at least 3 hours of therapy a day, focused on a few goals you choose together, with every therapy under one plan. It adds to your child's therapy at home; it does not replace it.
How long will my child's rehabilitation take?
It is different for every child. Cerebral palsy and dyspraxia are lifelong, so therapy is about the next goals at each stage of growing up, not a finish line. The length of your child's stay is set by the consultant at the outpatient consultation and reviewed with you every week. The HSE does not limit the number of weeks it reimburses; it caps the rate.
Will the progress last when we come home?
Progress lasts best when short, regular practice continues at home, so we coach you throughout the stay. You leave with a home programme you have already practised together, and strategies for school. We send a full report to your child's GP or paediatrician in Ireland, to share with your child's therapists at home.
Do you offer therapy for dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder)?
Yes. Our dyspraxia therapy is practical and skill-based: occupational therapy and physiotherapy teach the tasks your child finds hard, such as handwriting, dressing or catching a ball, and practise them often. It improves the skills practised; it does not cure dyspraxia, so practice needs to continue at home and school.
Is it safe for my child?
Your child has paediatric medical and nursing cover, and we follow a child safeguarding policy. Evexia Plus is a fully equipped hospital with 24-hour medical and nursing cover, on-site diagnostics and ISO 15224 certification, and Thessaloniki's university hospitals are about 30 minutes away. Our physician reviews your child's records before anything is booked, and checks that hydrotherapy is safe for your child before the first session.
Will my child fall behind at school?
We plan around your child's education. We coordinate with your child's school in Ireland, and at discharge you receive practical strategies to share with teachers, such as handwriting and classroom supports. With no waiting list, you can choose a date that suits the school year. Our psychology team helps your child settle in and cope with being away from friends.
We live in Cork, Galway or Waterford. Can we arrange paediatric rehabilitation for our child?
Yes. You can arrange it from Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Dublin or anywhere else in Ireland in the same way. Your child's GP or public hospital consultant writes the referral, you send us the medical records by email, and our physician reviews them before you choose a date. The outpatient consultation can take place in Greece the day before admission, and one parent stays with your child free of charge.
Does the HSE pay for paediatric 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. Your child needs a referral from their 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?
Your child 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 child's referral letter.
Can I stay with my child, and can the family visit?
Yes. One parent stays free, in your child's room or in nearby accommodation we arrange. A second parent, brothers and sisters can stay in seaside hotels in Kallikratia, five minutes away, and visit every day. Airport transfers are free for your family. Our psychology team supports parents and siblings too.
