Healthcare: doctors, Hospital Santa Ana & public vs private

Public vs private — the quick version

Spain has an excellent, largely free public health system, plus a big private sector that many foreign residents use alongside it.

• Public (SAS): free at the point of use once you're in the system. Great for GPs, emergencies and serious/hospital care. English is not guaranteed.
• Private: fast appointments, more choice, and often English-speaking doctors. Paid by insurance or per visit. Frequently required for non-EU residence visas.

Many residents keep public cover for the serious stuff and pay for private for speed and language.

The public system (SAS)

Andalusia's public health service is the Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS), part of Spain's national system.

Who's covered

• Employees and the self-employed paying into Seguridad Social (social security), and their dependants
• State pensioners from another EU country or the UK, via an S1 form (see below)
• Visitors for emergencies and necessary care with a valid EHIC/GHIC (short stays only — not a substitute for residents' cover)

How to register, step by step

1. Get your NIE and empadronamiento first (see the Moving here guide).
2. Sort out your Seguridad Social status — as a worker/autónomo through your employer or the Tesorería, or as a pensioner via the S1.
3. Take your documents to your local centro de salud and apply for your tarjeta sanitaria (health card).
4. You'll be assigned a médico de cabecera (GP) and, for children, a paediatrician.

UK pensioners: the S1

If you draw a UK state pension, the S1 form (from the UK) registers you for Spanish public healthcare, with the UK footing the bill. It's one of the most useful things a British retiree can arrange — sort it early.

Your local health centre (centro de salud)

Day-to-day care starts at your town's health centre, not the hospital:

• Each town has one — Almuñécar, La Herradura, Salobreña (with a new centre in the La Villa district) and Motril.
• Book GP appointments through the SAS app (Salud Andalucía / ClicSalud+), by phone, or in person.
• Repeat prescriptions and referrals to specialists also go through your GP here.

Hospital Santa Ana (Motril) and beyond

• Hospital Santa Ana de Motril is the comarca's public hospital, covering the whole Costa Tropical for A&E, specialists and most hospital care.
• More complex cases are referred inland to the big Granada hospitals (Virgen de las Nieves and Clínico San Cecilio).
• There are private clinics and consultants across the coast too, especially around Almuñécar and Motril.

Emergencies

• 112 — the general emergency number (ambulance, fire, police), with English-speaking operators.
• 061 — the medical emergency line in Andalusia.
• For non-urgent problems out of hours, use your health centre's urgencias service or a duty pharmacy.

Private healthcare

• Common insurers include Sanitas, Adeslas, DKV and Cigna; monthly premiums rise with age.
• You can also simply pay per visit — a private GP consultation is often in the region of €40–60.
• Non-EU residents (including UK nationals) usually need full private cover with no co-payments to get a non-lucrative or similar visa.
• Private is where you'll most easily find English-speaking doctors.

Pharmacies (farmacia)

• Marked by a green cross, pharmacies handle far more than in some countries — the pharmacist can advise on and dispense a lot without a doctor.
• Out of hours, a rotating farmacia de guardia stays open; the rota is posted on every pharmacy door and online.

A few tips

• Register early — don't wait until you're ill to sort your tarjeta sanitaria.
• Download the SAS app (ClicSalud+) for appointments and prescriptions.
• Keep a simple list of your medications with their generic names — brands differ between countries.
• A little Spanish (or a translation app) goes a long way in the public system.