ricko

I would like to get some advice on a particular problem I havenºt seen any posts about.
I filled in the Application for Cartao de Utente at the beginning of July, but it still hasnºt been processed.
I was told it would be done in two weeks, but when I went back, they said they would do it and email me in the next two weeks.
This didnºt happen.
Iºve been back to the Centro do Saude a number of times, but apart from the person who helped me fill out the appliclation, all the secretaries say they speak little or no English, so I canºt get a reason why it has not been processed.

So I would like advice on two items:
1 how long should it take to process the application?

2 what is the best course of action to take?

zoff

They didn't say which next two weeks
Things always take longer here. I'm waiting for an architect's response, he said it would take maybe two weeks. This was in June! I'm still waiting for him and a few others.

I apologize for wasting your time with this post but I couldn't resist

DiDAN

It took us finally one day to get Numero de Utente, it all depends on particular centro de saude. We insisted to meet an administrator and she made it within minutes on a computer. Sometimes they say the system doesn't work, so we had to head there two times.

ouriquejan

lol zoff.

We had to wait 3 years before we were registered with a family doctor, when we first moved over. Had to keep going to Olhao urgência to get stuff.

When we moved to the Ourique area, we went to the centro de saude with our utente cards and were registered straight away.

Different areas, different rules.

ricko

Since so many people have been denied healthcare access in the last couple of years, my concern here
was that it was a new way of denying access.
Those that gained healthcare access, received it almost immediately, or within a couple of days; so after waiting for six weeks,
there seemed to be something going badly wrong.
As nobody else seemed to be having the same problem, I considered that my suspicions may be unfounded.
So I started going into the Centro de Saude every day and asking when the documents would be ready.
After a week of this, the attitude seemed to change, and I was told that it would be ready soon.
A few days later I was told to phone up another office at the end of that week.
After that, I received the document within the next week.

DiDAN

Ricko, which document are you referring to? We've been issued only with A4 papers stating our Numero de utente, did you received any plastic card? Anyway, nobody asked for it. Giving Numero de utente was enough to receive healthcare.

ricko

DiDAN
It is the A4 sheet with the Utente number on it.
There was some other information on it, maybe the doctor's name amongst them.
They said that the doctor was only there for one and a half days a week (at a private hospital for the rest of the week?), and it sounded like there may be a long delay when making an appointment.
There was no plastic card.

mfesharne

The Utente number is usually done online now but some areas (Penela being a good example) have been known to make things difficult.

I'd suggest you contact the UK Embassy via their FB page which is called Brits in Portugal and ask them for advice......... Be VERY sure you're contacting the right FB page because there are several out there with similar names who suggest they have some link to the Embassy & they do not so search on that exact name.

They're doing a Q&A session from 1200-1230 hours today so if you can visit their page during that time, you might be able to get the ball rolling today.

I've gotta say the UK Embassy FB team are doing a fantastic job at a very difficult time & are very much on the ball!

ricko

I now have the health "card".

I'm surprised to hear that a Government department is using a commercial company like Facebook.
I have never used Facebook.

Is there an alternative method of accessing the information from the UK Embassy?

cfs

Today I registered for a utente number at a Centro de Saúde in Maia. It was very painless and straightforward.

I needed to take my passport, my rental agreement, my Certificado de Registo como Cidadão de União Europeia and they also asked me for a valid EHIC card. They took photocopies of all my documents.

It took about 5 minutes and I left with an A4 piece of paper with the number on it. I was told it was a provisory number and that I would get the real number and be allocated a doctor some time next year once Covid has calmed down.

Rambling archer

Yes, here our local GP has reitred end of June, much to everyone's relief as he was a bit of a pain (pun intended), except that now at best (and not in holiday or fiesta times) we have a locum who comes once or twice a week - seemingly on fairly random days, no appointments are possible, and queuing (socially distancing round the car park in the heat) from 8.30 in the morning, we were finally seen at 11.35, and the rest of the queue behind us had to come back in the afternoon after lunch!!!! We are hoping not to need further treatments til the new GP finally gets appointed ... and NOBODY seems to know when that will be. There seems to be an acute shortage of doctors in general, hospital and GP, which the government is supposed to be tackling with gusto, but with apparently little success!!!
We had no problem getting a Utente number at our first location (rental) showing passports as ID and Residency Cert as EU citizens, but then when we moved nearer to a big town there was lots of tutting and exclaiming that we had to have a Social Security number, and why did we not have one? Nobody asked us, was the reply ... So it came to light that as pensioners we had to supply S1s from the country which sourced our largest pensions (we have several small ones from EU countries we have worked in!!) and LOTS of other documents and once Portugal had chatted to UK and exchanged paperwork, we got our SS numbers (as Emigrant Workers !!!!!) and are now all set. This was done at the SS office in town and not at the health centre.
All we need now is a GP LOL

BillBullock

Just search for the website of UK Embassy in Lisbon.