Emergencies and pharmacies in Czechia: 112, 155 and out-of-hours care

In an emergency in Czechia, call 155 for an ambulance, 150 for the fire brigade, 158 for the police, or 112 when you need more than one of them or aren't sure which. Operators on 112 also take calls in English. For a sudden problem that can wait for a doctor but not for your GP's surgery hours, the out-of-hours service (pohotovost) treats you for a 90 Kč fee, and your prescription is an electronic code you can take to any pharmacy.

Which emergency number do I call?

Calls to every emergency number are free from landlines and mobiles, and 112 works even from a mobile with no SIM card in it.¹ Calls to 112 and 150 go to 14 centres at the regional fire and rescue services, whose operators handle calls in Czech, English or German.²

What do I say when I call?

The fire and rescue service asks callers to give four things:¹

1. Who is calling: your name and the number you're calling from.
2. What happened: so the operator can decide what help to send.
3. Where: the exact address, including the town, or landmarks nearby; outside towns, the road number or, on a motorway, the number on the kilometre sign.
4. Who is hurt: how many people, their rough age and sex.

It also asks callers to stay calm, answer every question, and never be the first to hang up.¹

Where do I go when my GP's surgery is closed?

The out-of-hours service (pohotovostní služba, or pohotovost) treats sudden changes in your health, or an illness that gets worse, outside surgery hours. There are three kinds:³

• for adults, run by hospitals that have an emergency department;
• for children, run by hospitals with a children's ward;
• for dental problems.

Pharmacies have an out-of-hours service too.³ A hospital's emergency department (urgentní příjem) is open around the clock for people with a sudden serious health problem, whose life is in danger, or whose illness suddenly gets worse.⁴ In Prague, an online map (lps.praha.eu) shows the out-of-hours services for adults, children and dental care, and pharmacies open out of hours.⁵

Your health insurance covers the care you get from the emergency medical service and from out-of-hours services.⁶

What does out-of-hours care cost?

If you're in public health insurance, each visit to a medical or dental out-of-hours service costs a 90 Kč regulatory fee (regulační poplatek), paid to the doctor's practice or hospital.⁷ A parent pays it for a child. You don't pay it if the doctor finds that you need to stay in hospital, and the practice must give you a receipt when you ask.⁷

Your insurance card still matters: you show it whenever you get care, except when you collect medicines at a pharmacy.⁸

How do prescriptions work?

Doctors in Czechia write prescriptions electronically, through the eRecept system run by SÚKL, the state drug agency; it has been compulsory since 1 January 2018.⁹ Each prescription has a code, which you get for free:¹⁰

• on a paper slip, unless you choose otherwise;
• by text message or email;
• in the eRecept app.

You take the code to any pharmacy you choose, and nobody may steer you to a particular one.¹⁰ A prescription is valid for:¹¹

If a pharmacy doesn't have your medicine and can't get it quickly, the pharmacist can extend the prescription by up to 14 days.¹¹

How much do prescription medicines cost?

Prescription medicines are covered in full or in part by public health insurance; for one covered in part you pay a co-payment (doplatek) at the pharmacy.¹² The co-payments that count towards a yearly limit, broadly those on the cheapest equivalent medicine, are capped each calendar year:¹³

The pharmacy checks your total through eRecept and, once you've reached the limit, charges only the part of a co-payment that doesn't count towards it.¹³ If you paid more than the limit, your insurer refunds the difference within 90 days of your request, which you can make from 1 January to 30 June of the following year.¹⁴

Sources

1. Fire and Rescue Service, emergency line 112: when and what help to call, checked 28 October 2026; Czech Telecommunication Office, coloured, information and emergency lines, updated 1 June 2022. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Fire and Rescue Service, emergency call centres, checked 28 October 2026. ↩ ↩²

3. Health Services Act (Act 372/2011 Coll.), §2(2)(j) and §7a. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Health Services Act (Act 372/2011 Coll.), §44g(1). ↩ ↩²

5. Out-of-hours services in Prague, checked 28 October 2026. ↩

6. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §28. ↩ ↩²

7. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §16a(1), (2)(d) and (4). ↩ ↩²

8. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §12(h). ↩

9. SÚKL, about ePrescription, checked 28 October 2026. ↩

10. Medicines Act (Act 378/2007 Coll.), §80(2) to (4). ↩ ↩²

11. Decree 329/2019 Coll. on prescribing medicines, §9. ↩ ↩²

12. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §11(1)(e) and (j). ↩

13. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §16b(1), (6) and (7). ↩ ↩²

14. Public Health Insurance Act (Act 48/1997 Coll.), §16b(2). ↩

15. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §180j(1), (5) and (8). ↩

16. Health Services Act (Act 372/2011 Coll.), §48(3). ↩