Doctors and Emergency
Everyone, including foreigners, should be registered with a GP. Register with a GP as soon as possible, so that you know who to contact if you need medical help. If necessary, your GP will issue you a referral to a specialist (such as neurologist, urologist etc.). At the same time, it is important to go to regular medical check-ups to a dentist (twice a year). Women also have to see their gynecologist (usually once a year). Children go to medical check-ups to a pediatrician. To be able to see specialists, it is necessary to register with them. However, specialized doctors may not accept you due to full capacity.
If you need help looking for a suitable doctor, use social counselling provided by integration centers and nongovernmental non-profit organisations.
Medical Emergency
If you need medical care outside normal doctors’ surgery hours, seek emergency care (adults, children or dental), which is usually located in hospitals. To be able to go to access emergency care, you need to pay a regulatory fee.
A list of Prague emergency rooms is available here.
If you find yourself in a serious, life-threatening emergency, call the emergency line 112. This is a universal European number for an ambulance, the fire brigade and the police. Calling 112 is possible from any mobile phone even without a SIM card or a prepaid credit..
You can also use the following national telephone lines:155 – ambulance, 150 – fire brigade, 158 – the police, 156 – the municipal police.
Anyone in a life-threatening situation gets treatment even without medical insurance. However, the amount due is collected afterwards.
Prague Hospitals Specialized in Providing Care to Migrants
The following hospitals and medical facilities specialize in providing health care to migrants:
University Hospital Motol, Department of Primary Care
V Úvalu 84, 150 06 Praha 5
+420 224 431 111 cizinecke@fnmotol.cz
On their website you can find useful information on providing health care services for migrants:
Na Homolce Hospital, Department of Foreign Nationals
Roentgenova 2/37, 150 30 Praha 5
+420 257 271 111 hospital@homolka.cz
Healthcare for Pregnant Foreign Women and Foreign Children
Pregnant women in the Czech Republic regularly go to pregnancy advisory centers and to their gynecologists. In Prague it is necessary to choose a maternity hospital for the birth and register there in advance. Children in the CR see their pediatricians.
Public Health Insurance
If a woman is insured under the public health insurance and one of the parents has a permanent residence permit in the CR, healthcare during pregnancy and the childbirth is paid out of this insurance. There is therefore no need for any additional insurance because a newborn foreign child also falls within public health insurance just like one of the parents from the first day of its life.
If parents have public health insurance but neither of them has permanent residence in the Czech Republic, it is necessary to arrange commercial health insurance for children as soon after the birth as possible!
Commercial Health Insurance
It is not absolutely necessary but if you have commercial health insurance, it is recommended that you also arrange additional prenatal and pregnancy care. The child is insured by this insurance until its discharge from the maternity hospital. It covers prenatal check-ups, routine examinations, the childbirth, postnatal care etc.The minimum insurance period is usually 12 months. After the birth of the child it is necessary to arrange individual insurance for the newborn as soon as possible.