Health and emergency numbers in the Azores

Most trips to the Azores pass without anyone needing a doctor, but the islands are spread across a wide stretch of ocean and some of them are small. Knowing a handful of numbers before you land, and which island has what, makes any bad moment a lot easier to handle. Save the numbers below in your phone now.

When to call 112

112 is the single emergency number for ambulance, fire and police, free from any phone. In the Azores the call is first answered by a PSP police officer, who routes it to the right service. If it is a medical emergency you are passed to a nurse on the regional emergency medical line, staffed around the clock, who asks a short series of triage questions. Those questions do not hold up the ambulance; they help the team send the right help.

• Say exactly where you are: town, street, trail name, or the number on the nearest trail marker.
• Give the number you are calling from, in case they need to call you back.
• Describe what happened, and whether the person is conscious, breathing or bleeding.
• Stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up.

Call 112 for anything that cannot wait: chest pain, serious injury, breathing trouble, someone missing on a trail or at sea, a fire. For a suspected poisoning there is also a national poison information line, 800 250 250.

The health line, hospitals and health centres

For health worries that are not emergencies, the regional health line, Linha de Saúde Açores, 808 24 60 24, is listed by the regional civil protection service and charged at local-call rate. Calling first can save you an unnecessary trip to an emergency department.

The archipelago has three hospitals:

• Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel (hdes.pt)
• Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira (hseit.pt)
• Hospital da Horta, Horta, Faial (hospitalhorta.pt)

Santa Maria, São Jorge, Pico, Graciosa, Flores and Corvo have no hospital. Care there comes from each island's health unit (Unidade de Saúde de Ilha) and its health centres: Vila do Porto on Santa Maria, Calheta and Velas on São Jorge, Madalena, Lajes do Pico and São Roque on Pico, Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Santa Cruz das Flores, and the health centre on Corvo. The regional government's health contacts page lists every centre with its phone number.

Finding an on-duty pharmacy

Pharmacies (farmácias) handle minor complaints and many over-the-counter medicines. Outside normal opening hours, pharmacies take turns to stay available on a published roster, the farmácias de serviço. The regional health directorate posts the official rosters, opening hours and full pharmacy list, with rosters for Vila do Porto, Ponta Delgada, Ribeira Grande, Lagoa, Angra do Heroísmo, Praia da Vitória, Madalena and Horta. Out of hours, the pharmacy on duty works on call rather than staying open as usual, so check the roster before you set off.

Safety on trails, on the mountain and at sea

On the official walking trails, marker posts are numbered every 500 metres; if you need rescue, give the number of the last one you passed. Many trails have no mobile signal except at the start and end, so tell someone your route and when you expect to be back, and check the forecast first. The Azores Trails safety page covers the rest, and SOS Ambiente, 800 292 800, takes environmental reports.

Climbing Mount Pico has to be booked in advance through the official Montanha do Pico site, which recommends going with a licensed company and a certified mountain guide.

At sea, call 112. Search and rescue across the Azores is coordinated by the Portuguese Navy's maritime rescue centre in Ponta Delgada, MRCC Delgada.

EHIC and travel insurance

If you live in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland or the UK, bring your free European Health Insurance Card. It gives you medically necessary care in the public health service on the same terms as local residents. It does not cover private clinics, rescue or a flight home, and Your Europe notes that without it you may have to pay upfront and claim back later. Whatever your nationality, travel insurance that covers medical evacuation is worth having on islands this remote.