Health and support

Contact

Emergencies: 112 — around the clock, multilingualShow on the map
Health centre: Centro de Salud de Altea
Carrer Galotxa s/n, 03590 Altea
966 81 61 30
Old town surgery: Consultorio Casco Antiguo
Carrer Vilajoiosa 3, 03590 Altea
966 81 61 20
Hospital: Hospital Marina Baixa
Av. Alcalde En Jaume Botella Mayor 7
03570 Villajoyosa
966 85 98 00
Red Cross: Cruz Roja Altea
Carrer Consell, 03590 Altea
965 84 31 83
Social services: Centro Social, Carrer Marina Baixa
965 84 30 75

Opening hours

Period	Public opening
Health centre, Monday to Saturday	8:00 – 15:00
Old town surgery, Monday to Friday	8:00 – 15:00
Urgent care at the health centre	outside those hours
Hospital Marina Baixa, accident and emergency	around the clock
Red Cross office, Monday to Thursday	9:00 – 14:00

The urgent care point at the health centre is staffed even when the ordinary surgery is closed — online listings often show this incorrectly.

Opening hours change. Please check before going: san.gva.es

Departments and contacts

Family medicineGeneral practice, assigned by home address
PaediatricsChildren’s medicine at the health centre
NursingBlood tests, dressings, vaccinations, blood pressure
Urgent careOutside ordinary surgery hours
Red CrossPatient transport, courses, social support, beach patrols
Social servicesMunicipal advice, care assessment, emergency assistance

Step by step: applying for the SIP health card

Register firstThe empadronamiento at the town hall. Without the registration certificate nothing else follows.
Establish your coverAnyone working here is covered through social security. EU pensioners need form S1 from their home scheme. Otherwise the convenio especial or private insurance applies.
Assemble the documentsPassport, NIE, registration certificate and proof of cover.
Go to the health centreThe SIP is applied for there; the card follows by post or is collected.
Be assigned a doctorThe allocation follows your address and can be changed on request.

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What is handled here

GP appointments — by app, telephone or at the desk
Urgent care — no appointment, outside ordinary hours
SIP card — application, renewal, change of address
European Health Insurance Card — sufficient for EU visitors
Prescriptions — electronic, collected at any pharmacy with the SIP
Vaccinations and screening
Patient transport — via 112 or the Red Cross
Emergency social assistance — food, rent, utilities, via social services and Cáritas

What to bring

SIP card or European Health Insurance Card
Passport or identity card and NIE
Registration certificate from Altea
Form S1 for EU pensioners
A list of your medication, preferably by active ingredient

The documents required change with the rules. Current list: san.gva.es

Good to know

The active ingredient helps more than the brand name. Foreign brand names mean nothing here; with the substance and the dose any pharmacy will find the equivalent.

Duty pharmacies rotate according to a rota set by the pharmacists’ association. Which one is open is posted in every pharmacy window and listed at cofalicante.com.

For visitors from the EU the European Health Insurance Card is enough. It covers necessary treatment, not repatriation — that needs travel insurance.

Frequently asked questions

I am only here a few months a year. Can I get a SIP?

Not without registering. For stays under six months the European Health Insurance Card is the right route.

Is treatment available in English?

Some doctors speak English, but it is not guaranteed. For important appointments bring someone who can interpret.

What about weekends?

The urgent care point at the health centre is staffed. In serious cases call 112 or go straight to accident and emergency at Hospital Marina Baixa in Villajoyosa.

Who helps in financial hardship?

The municipal social services are the first door; they assess entitlements and refer on. Cáritas, through the parish, and the Red Cross provide further support.

Map

Map from Google Maps

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Police and emergencies — 112 and the emergency numbers
Town hall — registration, the prerequisite for the SIP
Other offices — social security in Benidorm

Addresses and telephone numbers of the health centre, surgery, hospital and Red Cross checked August 2026. Still to confirm: Cáritas Altea works, as everywhere in Spain, through the parish — opening hours are to be asked at Santa Maria del Consol (965 84 01 17).