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What to Do in a Medical Emergency in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

Who to call when someone is ill or hurt in Portugal: 112, the SNS 24 line, what happens at the hospital, and when an emergency visit is free.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

What to Do in a Medical Emergency in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live in Portugal, from the EU or outside it, and want to know who to call in an emergency.
  • You are visiting Portugal and want to know how emergency care works and what it may cost.
  • You are a parent, carer, or retiree making a household emergency plan.

Not for you if: you need the police or the fire service. Read Reporting a Crime in Portugal or Preparing for Wildfire Season in Portugal instead.

In Portugal, call 112 if a life is in danger. The call is free. For anything urgent but not life-threatening, call the SNS 24 health line on 808 24 24 24 first. A nurse will tell you where to go. If SNS 24, your health centre, or the INEM ambulance service sends you to hospital, the emergency visit is free. If you walk in without a referral and go home the same day, you may pay €14 to €18. Children, pregnant women, and several other groups never pay.

Which number to call

Save these numbers in every phone in your household today.

NumberWhat it is forCost
112Any emergency where a life is at risk: medical, fire, or policeFree
808 24 24 24SNS 24, the national health line, for urgent problems that are not life-threateningSame as a call to a landline
800 250 250Poison information centre (CIAV), for poisoning or medicine mistakesFree, 24 hours

Call 112 for chest pain, signs of a stroke, difficulty breathing, heavy bleeding, a serious injury, or a severe allergic reaction. 112 is the European emergency number and works across the EU. Operators in many EU countries can also answer in English.

Call SNS 24 for a high fever, a sick child at night, a stable injury, or when you are not sure you need a hospital. Nurses answer clinical calls 24 hours a day. They give advice, book a health centre appointment, send you to the right emergency department, or tell you to call 112. A referral from SNS 24 also means you pay no emergency fee.

If you are deaf or cannot speak on the phone, the free MAI112 app connects you to the emergency service by video call, with a Portuguese Sign Language interpreter. It also sends your location. It works 24 hours a day, for Portuguese and foreign citizens. Install it before you need it.

What to say when you call 112

The operator will ask questions in order. Stay calm and answer each one.

  1. Say what kind of emergency it is: medical (médica), fire (incêndio), or police (polícia).
  2. Give the exact location: street, number, floor, town, and parish (freguesia). Add a landmark if you can.
  3. Say what happened and how many people are hurt.
  4. Describe the patient: age, whether they are awake, and whether they are breathing.
  5. Stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up.

If you do not speak Portuguese, say "English, please". Many street names repeat across parishes, so the parish and a landmark help. In rural areas, read out your GPS coordinates from your phone's map app.

After the call, keep your phone free and your door unlocked. Turn on outside lights at night. If you can, send someone to meet the ambulance.

A few useful phrases:

  • "Preciso de ajuda." I need help.
  • "Chame uma ambulância." Call an ambulance.
  • "Houve um acidente." There has been an accident.
  • "Não respira." He or she is not breathing.

What happens after you call 112

When the call is medical, 112 passes it to INEM, the national medical emergency institute. You do not call INEM directly. A team at INEM's urgent patient centre (CODU) assesses the call and sends the help it judges right. That can be an emergency ambulance or a faster car with a medical team.

The dispatcher may stay on the line and talk you through first aid, such as how to position the patient. Follow the instructions until help arrives.

Going to the hospital emergency department

A public hospital emergency department is called the urgência. There are three types:

  • Basic (urgência básica), in smaller hospitals and health units.
  • Medical and surgical (urgência médico-cirúrgica), in mid-sized hospitals.
  • Most complete (urgência polivalente), in large central hospitals.

SNS 24 or 112 will send you to the right one.

Call SNS 24 before you go

Many public hospitals now run a programme called "Call first, save lives" (Ligue Antes, Salve Vidas). They ask you to call SNS 24 before you come, unless your life is at risk.

If you arrive without calling, you may be asked to call SNS 24 before you are admitted. The hospital explains how at the entrance. If the nurse on the line finds your problem is less urgent but you need to be seen, you get an appointment at a health centre for the same day or the next day.

What to bring

  • Your ID: passport, residence card, or citizen card.
  • Your SNS user number (número de utente), if you have one.
  • Your European Health Insurance Card, if you are covered by another EU or EEA country or Switzerland. UK visitors bring a GHIC or a UK EHIC.
  • Your private health insurance card, if you have one.
  • A list of the patient's medicines, allergies, and main illnesses.
  • A phone charger. Waits can be long.

How triage works

A nurse assesses you soon after you arrive. Hospitals use the Manchester triage system. You get a colour that sets how soon a doctor sees you. The order depends on how serious your case is, not on when you arrived.

ColourMeaningTarget time to see a doctor
Red (vermelho)EmergencyImmediately
Orange (laranja)Very urgent10 minutes
Yellow (amarelo)Urgent60 minutes
Green (verde)Less urgent120 minutes
Blue (azul)Not urgent240 minutes

These are targets. On busy days, green and blue patients often wait longer.

What it costs

If you use the SNS, most public health care is free. The one common charge is a hospital emergency visit you make on your own.

You pay the fee (taxa moderadora) only if all of these are true:

  1. You went to the emergency department without a referral from SNS 24, your health centre, or INEM.
  2. You were not admitted to hospital.
  3. You do not belong to an exempt group.

If you are admitted after paying, the fee is refunded when you leave.

The fee depends on the type of emergency department:

Type of emergency departmentFee
Basic (urgência básica)€14
Medical and surgical (urgência médico-cirúrgica)€16
Most complete (urgência polivalente)€18

Fees for tests done during the visit are added, up to €40 in total for one visit. If you cannot pay on the day, you have 10 days from when you are notified.

You never pay the fee if you belong to one of these groups, among others:

  • Children under 18.
  • Pregnant women, and women who have just given birth.
  • People with a disability rating of 60% or more.
  • Households on a low income.
  • Unemployed people registered at the job centre, if their benefit is within the income limit.
  • Voluntary blood donors, and living organ and tissue donors.
  • Transplant patients, firefighters, asylum seekers, and refugees.

The low-income exemption must be on your SNS record before you need it. You apply in your SNS 24 personal area or at your health centre. See Healthcare in Portugal for the income limit and how to apply.

Emergency fees you pay count towards the 15% health expenses deduction on your income tax. Public hospitals report them to the tax office for you.

If you are visiting from the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland, show your European Health Insurance Card. UK visitors show a GHIC or a UK EHIC. You get medically necessary care in the SNS. See Getting a European Health Insurance Card in Portugal.

If you are visiting with no card that covers you, you pay for your care or claim it on your travel insurance. Any public emergency department will treat you in an emergency. Keep your policy details with you.

Private hospitals also have emergency departments. They are not part of the SNS. You pay the full price unless your insurance covers you. Check what your policy says about emergencies before you go. See Choosing Private Health Insurance in Portugal.

When you do not need a hospital

Many problems can be handled closer to home.

  • SNS 24. Call 808 24 24 24 for advice at any hour. The nurse can book a same-day appointment at your health centre.
  • Your health centre (centro de saúde). Your first stop for anything that is not an emergency.
  • A pharmacy. Pharmacists can help with minor problems and tell you if you need a doctor. Pharmacies take turns to stay open at night. Infarmed, the medicines regulator, publishes pharmacy opening hours on its website. See Using a Pharmacy in Portugal.
  • Mental health. SNS 24 offers psychological counselling by phone, in Portuguese and English. If someone is in immediate danger, call 112. See Mental Health Support in Portugal.

Prepare before you need it

Spend ten minutes on this today.

  1. Save 112, 808 24 24 24, and 800 250 250 in every phone in the household.
  2. Register with the SNS and keep each person's user number on your phone. See Registering with the SNS in Portugal.
  3. Find your nearest public emergency department, and the nearest children's emergency department if you have children.
  4. Write down your full address in Portuguese format, with the parish and municipality (concelho).
  5. Keep a list of each person's medicines, allergies, and illnesses, on paper and on your phone.
  6. Keep copies of passports, residence cards, and insurance cards, on paper and on your phone.
  7. Keep a first aid kit at home and in the car.
  8. If anyone in the household is deaf, install the MAI112 app.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. In an emergency, call 112. Rules and fees change; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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