HEALTH CENTER
CENTRO DE SAÚDE
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| 🔗 KEY LINKS | |
| 📍 KEY LOCATIONS | Consult all information about health institutions (hospitals and health centers) |
| ☎️ KEY CONTACTS | SNS Line 24 – 808242424 Screening, counseling and referral service: 24h/day Clinical information service: 24h/day Psychological counseling service: 24h/day Administrative services: every day from 8:00 am – 10:00 pm |
WHAT IS IT?
The Health Center is the basic unit of the SNS for serving and providing healthcare to the population. Family doctors/general practitioners, public health doctors (health delegates) and nurses work there, providing essential, preventive or curative healthcare. In addition to administrative staff, other professionals also work in some Health Centers such as social service technicians, oral hygienists, environmental health technicians, nutritionists and psychologists.
WHY WOULD I NEED IT?
Registering with the Health Center is a registration process that allows anyone with an “utente” user number to access healthcare at their local health center. It's a way to ensure you have access to healthcare whenever you need it. By being registered, you can have access to family medicine, nursing care, nutrition, psychology, oral health and social assistance. Additionally, registration allows your doctor to access important information about your medical history, which can be crucial in an emergency.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE
Once you have your user number, follow these steps to register with the Health Center:
- Choose the Health Center you want to register for. Give preference to the health center in your area of residence
- Gather the following necessary. documents:
- residence permit and Tax Identification Number;
- Proof of health benefits to which you are entitled.
- residence permit and Tax Identification Number;
- Go to the chosen Health Center and request registration
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
To register at the Health Center, you will need an SNS user number (“utente”), alongside your identification number. You can obtain one through the National Health Service if you do not have a user number
| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | |
|---|---|
| How much does it cost? | Registration at the health center is free, therefore there are no costs associated with this process. |
| How long does it take? | Average processing time varies depending on the health center. However, in general, the registration process does not take long and can be completed on the same day. |
COMMUNITY TIPS & LEARNING
🗞️ NEWS TO BE AWARE OF?
- The Government approved two structuring legislative documents for the modernization of the National Health Service. It generalizes the Local Health Units (ULS), creating 31 new ULS, which integrate hospitals and health centers under a single management. The country will now be entirely covered by 39 ULS.
- Like many other countries in Europe and around the world, Portugal is experiencing a shortage of doctors. The SNS is understaffed at the local level and the wait for a family doctor can sometimes be quite long. Each doctor has a limited number of patients they can take on and there is often a wait-list in some municipalities that can take well over a year to get the first appointment.
When not assigned to a family doctor at the local Centro de Saúde, you can only get a minimum level of services such as pregnancy consultations, urgent family planning, acute situations, renewal of temporary disability certificates, chronic prescription renewal, and vaccinations.
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