Sri Pete

Thank you all for these responses. Thank you especially, Rambling archer, for that link to "Healthcare for UK nationals living in Portugal". The relevant section of that document states in the most simple and straightforward way I have yet found what should be necessary. Specifically that would be my UK passport, my Portuguese certificate of residency and my NIF -- all of which I have. A Social Security number is also on the list but should not be needed in my case as I am retired. I will try again and then report further.

Rambling archer

Do you have your S1 then? - or ask for that meanwhile from the UK Pensions Office (best to start by phone) - you may find a reference on the letter you got from them when you became pensionable, then having sorted out your Health Centre and got your utente number, you can tackle the Soc Security with you S1 in hand. Good luck.
More interesting reading ...

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/hea...r%20healthcare.

Extract - How to get an S1 form

You can apply for your form from the Overseas Healthcare Services.

Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 1999

Email: [email protected]

Monday-Friday 8am-6pm (GMT)

Sri Pete

You asked me about an S1 before and I neglected to answer -- sorry. The health-centre people did not ask me for an S1 and, if my understanding is correct, I have no way of obtaining one. Googling "S1" tells me it is strictly a European thing. I do not have a UK pension and, prior to moving to Portugal, I had not lived in Europe for 50 years. To clarify a few things: my pension comes from the USA where I lived for most of my adult life and I am living in Portugal with my fiancee who is a native Portuguese.

Red Eric

If you still draw a blank, there are various bodies that can be approached who could help in trying to set the health centre straight.

Rambling archer

Ah - OK then. Sorry can't help with USA based pension! As said before you do not need the S1 to join the health service - as a Portuguese resident you have that right.

campos

I registered with the service last year. I am still waiting for the Portimao health centre to allocate me a GP. I got an email from them advising that they had directed my request to their appropriate department .

This week someone on Facebook said that we (people in general, not expats) don't get a GP (!) If we need to see a doctor ,we 'simply' go to the health centre at 8am to queue for a ticket for an appointment time later the same day. I did this previously, but understood it was if it was more urgent than waiting for a GP's appointment, but less than ER. She further said that it's best to go on Sundays, as it's very quiet then. ( Is it even open on Sunday? )

Sri Pete

Good news! I am now registered with the SNS.

On my first attempt I went to my local Health Centre in Foz. Today I went to the one in Matosinhos which had been my local one at the time I became a resident. I gave the woman who helped me my passport, residency certificate and NIF document. She photocopied them, spent a couple of minutes on her computer, and it was done. Absolutely smooth and pleasant. I have not been assigned a GP yet but that will happen. I will be automatically included for Covid vaccination. And my beloved tells me that, now I am known to the system, I can easily switch to another health centre. Even, should I wish, to the one where her younger daughter works as a doctor.

So I am happy and I thank the folks here once again for their help.

Red Eric

Great stuff!

Thanks for the update

wellinever

Was in a Centro de Saude this afternoon, looking to move to a new one closer to home.
Yes you can but you will not get a `family doctor`, you will be on the list of 4000 most recent people that have joined the Centro that can obly be seen by a Locum.
The family doctors are full.
Sp you will be seen by a different doctor probably every time you make an appointment !!!
My car at least gets looked at by same Mechanic each time I go in.
Needless to say I declined their offer

Red Eric

Just one small afterthought on this - did you give your current address or your original? If the latter, you might want to advise of your address change before too long as the health authority does communicate by mail on some matters.

Rambling archer

Here is another after-thought - Before the pandemic set too, we were in rental accommodation while our property was renovated and joined a fairly rural Health Centre - there were two GPs there and we usually saw one of them but could have asked to see the other if we wanted. We got the impression that we had joined the Health Centre, rather than signed onto one GP's list. Then we moved nearer to Town and found a different situation - our little branch Helath Centre had an obnoxious GP (just the one) who was due t¡for retirement. Eventually that person went, and nine month later - pandemic is the excuse - we have finally got a replacement. In the meantime we were shunted about from a waiting list on a big Health Centre in town (never heard any more about the list) but again it was for the Health Centre in general and not for an individual GP and they were short staffed too, to another nearby rural Health Centre again just had the one GP whom we saw on an emergency basis a couple of times, who was an excellent chap but his list was full so could not take us on either.
In short the staffing situation for Health Centres in Central Portugal seems to be in crisis - was bad enough before the pandemic, but now all and any health professionals seem to have been co-opted into the hospitals and cities to cope with the Pandemic - understandable I suppose - but does not help the "primary care" service.

wellinever

No seeing a different locum is not the best situation. but chronic shortage of doc in Portugal. Either working for private sector or elsewhere in the EU and UK.
Av salary for Portugal GP is €35K, average on UK at £70-80K (GP practices), prob more in Germany. Same with nurses.
Means 2 things, not enough in Portugal for the demand and possibly not the best that are left in SNS.

My recent experience similar to yours, I do have an existing Family Doc, but never seen him. He doesn`t take appointments (poss reason you explain, he is working all over the place)
so looked to change to another Centro, yes no prob you can join us, but you will not have a family doc, you will be on the register with 4000 others that see locums.....what a decision?
Keep family doc who I have never seen and cant, or move and always see a different locum.
Hence the reason most Portuguese have Multicare or Medis, to go private.

Sri Pete

Thanks for the reminder. I gave them my old address. Which should be okay for the moment since mail sent to it will still reach me. However I will now make a note to change it.