SLOVAKIA | Emergency | Emergency services

Emergency services in general

In Slovakia, you have to dial the number 112 to be connected to emergency calls. This is the number for all kinds of emergency service. It is available 24 hours a day and consists of the following services:

Ambulance (112 and 16 155)
Fire Brigade (112)
Police (112)
Mountain rescue (you can find the contact in every kind of accommodation in the mountains).

All types of emergency service centres (ambulance, police, and fire brigade) are located in many places around Slovakia. Every district or township has its own emergency service centre. If you call any of the above numbers, you have to give the location where you are calling from and your address, and they will give you precise instructions. All calls to the above numbers are free of charge and recorded.

Besides the basic emergency service you might also need the following:

Help-line: 0850 111 313
Electricity failure: 0850 111 555
Emergency door opening: 16 888
Notice: These numbers can only be used in the Slovak Republic!

In Slovakia, general practitioners are called 'district doctors' and if you have problems with your teeth you can go to a dentist, in case of problems with your eyes you have to see an eye specialist, etc.

Insurances

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives students access to medically necessary healthcare during temporary stays in most European countries under the same conditions as local residents. It is free of charge and should be carried alongside your regular health insurance documents when completing an internship abroad.

Prior to coming to Slovakia, EU citizens once had to obtain the form E111 from their domestic medical insurance company. This was replaced by the EHIC with which they are eligible for medical care in Slovakia as Slovak citizens are, i.e. if you go to see a doctor, you have to pay 20 SK (0.5€) and for a day in hospital you will have to pay 50 SK (1.25€).

There is also the possibility of additional insurance from commercial insurance companies, but it is good to investigate the services they provide. Vzájomná životná poistovna, a. s. (VZP) is the only insurance company on the Slovak market which offers contractual health insurance for foreign nationals.