Healthcare in Mallorca, for English speakers.

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What should I do if I fall ill in Mallorca?

As everywhere, it depends on how urgent the problem is and whether you are visiting or resident. The island adds one extra factor: for the most complex care, patients are sometimes moved to a larger hospital in Palma or to the mainland.

For anything sudden or serious, call 112. For lesser problems, a pharmacy or an out-of-hours primary care point will usually be enough, and the island has a well-developed private sector used to international patients. The public service across the islands is the Servei de Salut de les Illes Balears, known as IB-Salut.

Short-stay visitors use a UK GHIC or EHIC for medically necessary public care. Residents who are registered use IB-Salut like any local.

Your entitlement

What does the GHIC cover in Spain after Brexit?

A UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) gives you state healthcare in Spain on the same terms as a local: emergency and medically necessary treatment that cannot reasonably wait until you are home, including a flare-up of a condition you already have. It does not cover private hospitals, it will not fly you home, and it is not travel insurance.

The GHIC is the post-Brexit replacement for the old European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you still hold a valid EHIC issued before the transition ended, you can keep using it in Spain until it expires, then replace it with a GHIC. Both are free, and you should be suspicious of any website that charges for one; apply only through the NHS. Think of the card as a floor rather than a ceiling: it catches you in an emergency in the public system, and that is all it is designed to do.

If you live here, the picture changes. UK state pensioners and certain posted workers can register for full Spanish public cover using the S1 form, which the UK funds on your behalf; the clearest starting point is the UK government's Living in Spain guide, the single most useful page the government publishes for residents. Everyone else settling here either pays into the public system through the convenio especial, takes out private insurance, or both. In practice, registration means getting your empadronamiento at the town hall, your residency document (the TIE), and a social-security number before a local health centre will issue your health card.

When it cannot wait

Where do I go in a medical emergency in Mallorca?

Call 112, free, from any phone, any time; operators can take calls in English. It is the one number for ambulance, police and fire, and the medical line 061 reaches the same emergency system.

The main public hospital with a 24-hour emergency department is Hospital Universitari Son Espases in Palma, with Son Llàtzer also in the capital and county hospitals at Inca and Manacor covering the rest of the island. For very serious cases the island system can arrange transfer, including by air when needed.

Out of hours, urgent but non-emergency problems are handled by primary care points; calling 061 or 112 will direct you to the nearest one. Take your passport or identity document and your GHIC, EHIC or insurance details.

Care in your language

Can I find English-speaking healthcare in Mallorca?

Yes. With such a large international community, many staff in Palma’s hospitals and in tourist areas are used to English, though in the public system it is not guaranteed and rural practices may have less.

The island has several private hospitals and clinics that serve English-speaking patients, and there are private English-speaking doctors too. To find providers independently noted as English-speaking, the UK Foreign Office publishes a list of English-speaking doctors and facilities covering Mallorca, which is a good neutral place to start.

In an emergency, do not worry about language: 112 and hospital A&E will treat you whatever you speak.

From your hotel or apartment

How do I see an English-speaking doctor online in Spain?

If your problem is not an emergency and you would rather not sit in a waiting room, you can see an English-speaking doctor online in Spain by video, phone or message, often the same day. A licensed Spanish doctor can assess you remotely and, where appropriate, issue an electronic private prescription you collect at any Spanish pharmacy.

Online doctor services, or telemedicine, have quietly become one of the easiest ways for tourists, expats and digital nomads to get unhurried medical care in their own language, without local insurance and without losing a day of the holiday to a waiting room. A typical online consultation in Spain can cover a minor illness, a travel or sick-note medical certificate, a specialist referral, or a continuation supply of medication you already take. What a responsible online doctor will not do is handle emergencies, prescribe controlled medicines such as strong painkillers or sleeping tablets, or treat young children remotely; for anything urgent you still call 112 and seek care face to face.

For the most common need, continuing a medication you already take and have simply run out of, the most direct route is The Holiday Doctor, in the section just below. For broader needs that fall outside a continuation supply, such as a minor illness, a travel or sick-note medical certificate, or a specialist referral, a travellers' telemedicine service like MyDoctor-In offers video and message consultations with bilingual doctors and electronic prescriptions valid at pharmacies in Spain and across the European Union, without needing Spanish insurance.

Teeth

Is there an English-speaking dentist in Mallorca?

Adult dentistry is almost entirely private in Spain, and Mallorca, especially Palma and the resort areas, has many private dentists used to international patients. The public system covers only urgent problems such as pain, infection and trauma, plus children.

For routine care and out-of-hours dental emergencies you will use a private dentist and pay directly. The Balearic dental college, the Col·legi Oficial de Dentistes de les Illes Balears, lists practitioners and duty clinics; the Foreign Office list of English-speaking doctors and facilities also flags some English-speaking dentists.

A little Spanish goes a long way

Useful Spanish words at the doctor or pharmacy

You do not need fluent Spanish to get good care in Mallorca, but a handful of words make everything smoother, and they are the terms you will see on signs and hear on the phone.

The most common holiday worry

I have run out of my medication in Spain. What can I do?

Start at a pharmacy. Spanish pharmacists are highly trained, and many medicines that are prescription-only in the UK are available over the counter in Spain, so a short conversation often solves the problem on the spot.

Where that is not enough, and the medicine is one you already take regularly, you have options that do not involve cutting your trip short or going without. A private Spanish doctor can review your situation, and an online clinical review with a Spanish-registered, English-speaking doctor is often the quickest, calmest route to a continuation supply of the medication you already take, where it is safe and clinically appropriate to provide one. Bring the name of your medication (ideally the generic name, since brands differ between countries) and, if you have it, a copy of your most recent prescription or repeat slip. A Spanish private electronic prescription is issued through REMPe, the national electronic prescription registry, and can be dispensed at any pharmacy in the country.

If it is on your mind

Can I look after my weight while I am here?

Managing your weight is best done with medical supervision and a plan you can keep, rather than alone or on impulse while away from home.

If this is something you are thinking about, it is worth doing it properly. Nivelta is a Spain-based clinical service offering a remote medical review and ongoing follow-up with a doctor for medically supervised weight management. It is a clinical service rather than a shop: whether any treatment is appropriate depends entirely on a clinician's assessment of your individual situation, your medical history and your safety. For the everyday side of looking after yourself, the next section is a better place to start.

The gap the card leaves

Do I still need travel insurance if I have a GHIC?

Yes. The GHIC covers state treatment only. It will not pay to repatriate you, it does not cover private hospitals, and it covers none of the ordinary disasters of travel.

An air ambulance back to the UK can run to tens of thousands of pounds, and if the public queue is long or the nearest available bed is private, you may end up paying privately for care the card does not touch. Most insurers now expect you to carry a valid GHIC anyway, and some waive your excess if you use it, so the two work together rather than in competition. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice for Spain sets out the current position, and it is worth a glance before you travel for any entry rules in force at the time.

Staying well

How do I stay healthy while I am in Mallorca?

Most island health problems for visitors are the avoidable summer ones: heat, sunburn, dehydration and the occasional sea or pool mishap. Drink plenty of water, respect the midday sun, and take more care than usual around water with children.

For minor things that do not need a doctor, a Spanish pharmacy with its green cross is the right first stop. Bring any regular medication in its original packaging with a copy of your prescription, since restocking on an island can take longer, and keep your GHIC or insurance details on your phone.

Being straight with you

What an online doctor cannot help with

Some situations need a person in the room, and it is important to be honest about them.

An online clinical review is not for emergencies; for anything urgent or life-threatening you call 112, not a website. It is not for under-18s, and it is not the route to start a brand-new, high-risk medicine for the first time, which needs proper in-person assessment. It cannot help anyone who is not physically in Spain. And a prescription is never automatic: a doctor reviews each request, and where a medicine or a situation needs face-to-face care, the honest answer is to say so and point you to it. None of this is small print. It is the difference between a service that is safe and one that is not.

Quick questions

Frequently asked questions

Check it yourself

Useful organisations and official sources

This page points you to the authorities so you can confirm anything that matters for your own situation. Rules and entitlements change, so the official source is always the final word.