Access To Healthcare

Access to healthcare services for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece:

Every refugee and asylum seeker in Greece has the right to free access to primary, secondary and tertiary health care.

In case of emergency

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, and require immediate and urgent medical attention, you can access medical services at the Emergency Department of a hospital. To find out which hospital has an emergency department on duty and on which days, is provided here by the Ministry of Health.  Please note that information in this link is only in Greek.

In case of MEDICAL EMERGENCY you can call 166

To book an appointment at a hospital

There are several ways to book an appointment at a hospital in Greece.

If you have an AMKA (National Insurance Number):

  • Call the national line 1535 and follow the instructions (Greek-English)
  • If there is a specific hospital that you would like to attend, you may book an appointment by calling the hospital directly
  • You can use also the medical services of the Medical Centers of IKA. To book an appointment in these Centers use the national line 14900 and follow the instructions

If you do not have an AMKA (National Insurance Number):

Partners managing apartments or hotels: The partner should contact the call-center of EKEPY at 2106822445 and follow the instructions (Greek-English)

Site: The medical or psychosocial unit operating in the site, should contact the call center of EKEPY at 2106822445 and follow the instructions (Greek-English)

In Greece, arranging an appointment at a public facility (hospitals or medical centres) will usually take between a few weeks to few months, depending on the medical speciality or the medical examination that is required.

Hospitals in Greece:

The Ministry of Health approved list of all hospitals in Greece is here. NOTE this information is in English.

Municipality Medical Centres:

Many municipalities have Medical Centres where all refugees and asylum seekers (with or without an AMKA) can access the medical services offered from the specific centre. In order to have the information needed they should call or visit the municipality in your area.

NGOS operated medical centres:

Many NGOs operate medical centres and polyclinics that offer various medical services to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece. To find out more information about the available clinics including the address, the medical services available and to book an appointment, you can call:

PRAKSIS: 210-8213704

Doctors of the World: 210-3213150

Medecins Sans Frontieres: 210-5200500

Hellenic Red Cross: 210-3613848

Solidarity Now: 210-6772500

Vaccinations

If you have an AMKA, you can access vaccinations at public hospitals and public medical centers.

The Greek Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) also provides vaccinations all over Greece. Vaccinations can also be accessed at Mother-Child centers. Contact details for these centers (address, telephone) can be found in Greek here.

Doctors of the World (MDM) and the Hellenic Red Cross are both certified NGOs provide vaccination services at their polyclinics. For more information you can call:

Doctors of the World: 210-3213150

Hellenic Red Cross: 210-3613848

Provision of medicines

In order to access required medicines for free or with a small fee, you must have a prescription from a doctor at a public facility — a hospital or medical centre. If you have an AMKA and you have an electronic prescription, you can get your medicines from any pharmacy.

If you do not have an AMKA, but you have a prescription from a doctor at a public hospital or medical centre, even if it is hand written, you can get your medicines for free from the pharmacy at the hospital where the doctor provided the prescription.

HIV treatment and advice

The Greek Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) operates a phone line through which you may access medical information, such as where to be tested, which Hospitals can provide PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis) and other information.

For information related to HIV in Greek and English you can call: 210 72 22 222

Poisoning

The Poisoning Control Center in Greece has a phone line for information and advice, active 24/7.

For advice about poisoning you can call: 210 7793777

NOTE that this service is only provided in Greek.

Other useful resources

Doctors of the World (MDM) provides this list of medical services and NGOs in Greece.

If you are visiting a medical clinic or hospital, the Spanish Red Cross may provide you with accompaniment and translation support. The service operates in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Urdu, English, French and Pashtu. More information can be found here.

A lexicon of key phrases and medical terms in English, French, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu is available here.