Public Healthcare :
Portugal
Public Healthcare
The Form E111 is no longer valid. You should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving the UK. The EHIC is not a substitute for medical and travel insurance, but entitles you to emergency medical treatment on the same terms as Portuguese nationals.
NHS Guide
Foreign & Commonwealth Office - Travel Insurance
The British Embassy in Lisbon has the following to say about the Portuguese Health Service:
"Under EU legislation and the Protocol on Medical Treatment that was signed between Portugal and the UK on 15 November 1978, British citizens who are legally resident in Portugal are entitled to state medical treatment on the same terms as any Portuguese national who is covered by the National Health service. Non-resident British visitors to Portugal are entitled to emergency medical treatment at state facilities on production of their British passport or European Health Insurance Card.
In order to benefit from state-funded health care as a resident, you should apply for a national health service "user card" (cartão de utente) at your local health centre (centro de saúde) producing your passport as evidence of national status, and your registration certificate (see paragraph 1 above). Until such a time as a registration certificate has been issued, you will only be entitled to emergency treatment from state facilities. Routine consultations, complementary exams, such as x-rays and blood tests, and prescriptions for existing illnesses only become available on national health service terms once a registration certificate has been issued and a user card has been applied for.
There is, however, one exception to this rule. If you are retired and are in receipt of a UK state retirement pension, you may apply for a user card and enrol with a state GP immediately on arrival, simply on the production of your passport and pension receipts. Though not obligatory, it is also advisable to obtain Form 121 from the Department for Work and Pensions before leaving the UK. This confirms your status as a UK pensioner to the Portuguese authorities, and speeds-up the issue of a Portuguese health service user card.
Please note that the only medicines that are available free-of-charge in Portugal, are those used to treat the sufferers of certain chronic illnesses. All other medicines have to be purchased, though many are subsidised to some extent when obtained on prescription and on presentation of a health service user card.
There are several good but extremely expensive private clinics in Portugal. If you are considering using private health facilities, you may wish to take out health insurance, either in the UK or locally on arrival."