Buy Property to Immigrate to Portugal to learn about Life in Portugal: In Portugal, the official healthcare services are provided by the National Health Service. In addition to this public service, there are also free private medical institutions and professionals.
The hospital network consists of modern, well-equipped facilities distributed across the country, maintaining long-term relationships with major national insurance companies.
To make overseas patients feel more comfortable, hospitals are implementing personalized patient care and monitoring services, with English as the common language.
Portugal also has an integrated medical emergency system, ensuring accurate and rapid responses to sudden patients or anyone suffering from sudden illnesses, with emergency services guaranteeing quick response times (the current average response time for emergency calls is maintained at 7 seconds).
The World Health Organization's World Health Report ranks Portugal's healthcare system 12th.
Where to Seek Help?
If you need to use the National Health Service, remember that you can obtain medical assistance at the nearest local health center. In emergencies, you can use the hospital emergency services (for severe trauma, poisoning, burns, heart attacks, thrombosis, respiratory diseases, etc.).
In case of an accident or emergency, dial the European emergency number: 112. You can also call an information hotline to clarify any health-related questions you may have — Linha Saúde 24 – 808242424.
Please remember:
If you are a national of one of the 27 European Union member states, or a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, you must present your European Health Insurance Card (issued in your country of birth), your passport, or identification document to gain access to free or low-cost healthcare services.
Overseas citizens holding a residence permit in Portugal must register at a health center and must hold a user card (which can be obtained by presenting documents proving residence authorization at the health center).
If you need to go to the hospital, you can use the hospital network belonging to the National Health Service. If you have private health insurance, check if your company has agreements with private hospitals outside of public health services.
