Health Care

Public health-care system

If you need to see a doctor, Catalonia has a public health-care system that offers universal assistance to city residents and which enjoys a good international reputation.

The primary healthcare centre (CAP, which stands for Centre d'Atenció Primaria) is the first point of call if you wish to access free medical assistance. The most common health problems are dealt with, diagnoses are made and social care provided there.

More serious health issues are dealt with in hospitals, where specialist treatment is administered and surgery carried out.

Barcelona has 53 CAPs, distributed throughout the city's districts. The patients of every CAP are subject to the criteria of proximity to place of residence. When you register with one, you will be assigned a GP or your own family doctor as well as a paediatrician, if you've got children.

Doctors work in rotas, so you will be asked to choose a set timetable that best suits you for visiting your doctor. You will normally be able to see your GP a day or two after you have requested an appointment.

Except in the case of emergencies, you must see your GP first before you can see a specialist doctor. Note that public dental care only covers diagnoses, preventive and therapeutic care (such as extractions in the case of infections or inflammation).

To register with the Catalan healthcare service (CatSalut), you need to be registered with the municipal residents' register (padrón), as they will assign you to the CAP nearest to your home. If you are not working or paying into the Social Security system, you will have to go through a formality to ensure your right to health care is recognised. Consult the related formalities to find out how.

Once you are registered, you will be given an individual healthcare card (TSI, which stands for stand for Targeta sanitària individual), which will give you access to the public healthcare system's centres and services. This card is individual and each member of the family must have their own, irrespective of their age.

If you have not registered with Social Security, you will have to take out private medical insurance that covers you while you are living in Spain.

For further information, visit the following website.

Have a look to the following formalities:

Health emergencies

Emergency medical assistance is provided in CAPs and hospitals. CAPs deal with most emergencies during normal working hours.

Outside of working hours, you can go to an emergency primary healthcare centre, which attends to people 24 hours a day throughout the year. These centres work in collaboration with emergency hospital services and the Medical Emergencies System (SEM).

You can also phone 061 (CatSalut Respon), a service that covers the entire Catalan region 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. We recommend you phone an emergencies centre before you visit it, to make sure there are not too many patients already there. There are some 200 doctors, nursers and specialists working for this helpline, with experience in providing assistance on the phone and in writing. In addition, it also has a translation and interpreting service.

 

Hospitals

Barcelona has 58 hospitals (12 of which are public and 46 private). Of its private hospitals, 24 are part of the national healthcare system’s Public Use Hospitals Network (XHUP).

Barcelona’s main hospitals are: Hospital Clínic, Hospital del Mar, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and Hospital Universitari de la Vall d’Hebron. Their websites are available in several languages.

These hospitals offer excellent emergency services and elective and non-elective medical treatment. They have some of the best medical professionals in the country as well as the latest in medical technology.

 

Private medical insurance

Some people opt for private medical insurance. The advantages are immediate access to specialists, a wider range of professionals available and shorter waiting times for visits and treatments.

Mutual insurance companies (insurers) have their own network of hospitals, clinics and laboratories and offer some services that the public system does not cover.

Note that most companies only cover the care offered by the professionals who appear on the lists of their medical directories, although some refund a percentage of the fees charged by professionals who are not on these lists.

 

Pharmacies

If you have a minor health problem, you can go to a pharmacy, where the pharmacists will advise you on the non-prescription medicines you can take.

Bear in mind that there are duty pharmacies that are open throughout the night, on weekends and during public holidays. Some even open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

The COVID-19 health emergency

To find out all about the effects of the pandemic, the measures for reducing the spread of infections and the actions for providing social, economic and emotional support, please enter: www.barcelona.cat/covid-19

The Catalan public health system (CatSalut) is summoning the population in accordance with the established Vaccination Plan, which prioritises people who are vulnerable and at risk. If you would like information on COVID-19 vaccinations, you can find it from the following official links:

Foreign-nationals resident in Barcelona or Catalonia who have an individual healthcare card (TSI) must follow the vaccination protocol established by the rest of the population. When it is an individual’s turn, they will receive instructions for booking the day and time of their vaccination, through a text message to their mobile or a communication from their primary health-care centre (CAP). 

A rather more specific case is that of foreigners working in Barcelona in companies as professionals on assignment abroad for a certain period of time. In other words, despite living and working in our city, such individuals do not pay contributions to Spain’s Social Security system and remain tied to their country of origin’s health system. They therefore do not have an individual health card (TSI) or any supporting document confirming public health-care cover.

Such individuals will only be able to access the CatSalut vaccination process once they have filled in an identification form. This will enable the health authorities to analyse each case in accordance with the European regulation on the coordination of social security systems and Spain’s bilateral international agreements on health-care cover and to summon these individuals for COVID-19 vaccination. 

If you have any queries, you can call 061 (CatSalut Respon), a support service operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

How can you obtain your COVID passport?

The EU digital COVID certificate is an accreditation that guarantees the person's vaccination status, if they have passed COVID-19 or if they have a recent negative diagnostic test. It authorises holders to travel into and through EU member states and provides access to certain spaces, such as areas inside restaurants, night-time leisure venues, celebrations with dancing inside closed premises and also old people’s residences. Below we explain how you can obtain it, depending on your situation:

 

I have been vaccinated in Catalonia

You will need to download your EU digital Covid certificate through the La Meva Salut app (only available in Catalan and Spanish).

  • If you have your health card (TSI), you can register with the La Meva Salut app by filling in this form.
  • If you don’t have a TSI but you are an officially registered resident of Barcelona or another Catalan municipality, you can apply for your TSI. Once you have your TSI, you will be able to download the La Meva Salut app.
  • If you don’t have a TSI, are not an officially registered resident and have no National Health System code, you will need to go to the Primary Healthcare Centre (CAP) nearest to where you live and apply for a COVID CIP. A CIP is a health administration identification code. Once you've received your COVID CIP, together with your ID number, you’ll be able to register with the La Meva Salut app and download your Covid certificate.

 

I’ve been vaccinated in an EU member state

You will need to download your EU digital Covid certificate through the La Meva Salut app (only available in Catalan and Spanish).

  • If you have your health card (TSI), you will need to go to your local Primary Healthcare Centre (CAP) and present your documents there (proof of vaccination) so that the vaccination data are entered into your medical record. It is a requirement for you to have been vaccinated with a vaccine authorised by the European Medicines Agency: Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen or AstraZeneca. Once your vaccine data have been entered, you will be able to register with the La Meva Salut app by filling in this form and download your EU digital COVID certificate.
  • If you don’t have a TSI but you are an officially registered resident of Barcelona or a Catalan municipality, you will need to apply for your TSI. Once you have obtained your TSI, you will be able to carry out the procedure described above.

 

I’ve been vaccinated in a non-EU member state

  • If you are a foreigner from a non-EU country and have been vaccinated in your home country, the certificate issued from your country of origin is valid. EU COVID Certificates cannot be obtained in such situations.

 

Further information on digital COVID certificates from the Canal Salut.