In this article you will learn:

• where to find your GP (General Practitioner),
• about the ambulance service,
• where to go if you have a sudden health problem or accident.

 

Registration with a doctor

 

To be able to contact a specialist whenever you need medical advice, you need to be registered with a general practitioner. The same goes for a dentist, and gynecologist (for women) as well as pediatrician and dentist (for children). That means that if you want to see a specialist, you first need to visit your general practitioner and they will issue you ´´žádanka´´- a paper where they recommend you to see a specialist doctor for your problem.

 

If you need help finding a suitable doctor, you can contact the health insurance company that you have an agreement with. They are obliged to provide you with a list of contracted doctors who accept new patients.

 

You can get the following preventive check-ups included in your public health insurance:

• General practitioner - once every 2 years
• dentist - once a year (children twice a year)
• gynaecologist - 1x per year
• If you need it, your GP will issue a referral to a specialist doctor (urologist, neurologist, diabetologist, physiotherapist, etc.).
•  You do not need a GP referral to see selected specialists. These include a  dermatologist,  otolaryngologist, or ophthalmologist.

Ambulance service

 

In a serious threat to health or life (severe injury, impaired consciousness, breathing, poisoning, allergies, etc.), call the emergency number 112. This is a universal pan-European number to call the ambulance, fire brigade, or police. You can call this line from any phone without a SIM card or credit. Operators also speak foreign languages and you can call from places where there is no signal.

Important: Everyone has a legal duty to provide and summon help in the event of a threat to the health or life of others.

 

Emergency

 

If your doctor is unavailable, you can go to a specialized medical center called an emergency room if you have a sudden health problem (e.g. high temperature, intense earache or injury, toothache) that is not life-threatening. The emergency room also serves children.

The emergency room operates outside normal doctor's working hours - in the evenings or on weekends and public holidays. It is located in selected hospitals or healthcare facilities. Everyone has to pay a regulatory fee of CZK 90, which is not covered by health insurance.

 

Important: Unless it is a severe case and you are unable to get to the emergency room on your own (e.g. by public transport or taxi), do not call the ambulance service.

 

 

Sources of information:

nasiukrajinci.cz

mzdr.cz