Good to know · Health

Know urgent care vs the ER in Madrid, and when to call 112

In Madrid you call 112 for life-threatening emergencies, use out-of-hours Puntos de Atencion Continuada for less severe urgent cases, and go to a hospital ER for conditions needing imaging, observation or admission.

Why it matters

Knowing where to go avoids long ER waits and gets you the right help fast.

When

Sudden illness or injury.

Last checked

7 Oct 2026

Cost: Public care is covered by tarjeta sanitaria; costs for uninsured people not verified.

What you need

• Present your health card when registering at any facility (Madrid urgencias page).

Steps

1. Life-threatening
   Call 112 (24/7, free): loss of consciousness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, severe bleeding, seizures, severe allergic reaction, serious accidents.
2. Less severe, out of hours
   Use urgent care at primary-care centers (Puntos de Atencion Continuada), typically about 15:00-8:00 on weekdays and 24h on weekends/holidays per Madrid’s page; confirm local hours.
3. Hospital ER
   For imaging/observation/admission. Triage priority: red immediate, orange under 10 min, yellow up to 1h, green up to 2h, blue up to 4h.
4. Non-urgent information
   Health information line 900 102 112 (24/7); 012 for general regional information.

Where

• SUMMA 112 / Madrid urgent care
  112; 900 102 112 (health info); 012
  https://www.comunidad.madrid/salud/atencion-urgencias-emergencias-sanitarias

Tips

• In 2022 Madrid reorganized out-of-hours care into 64 points (rural SAR services, PACs and 24h centers such as CUE El Molar); the 2022 document may be outdated, so check current locations.

Official sources

• Atencion en Urgencias y Emergencias Sanitarias
• Nuevo modelo de urgencias extrahospitalarias (2022)

Do these first

• Obtain the Madrid public health card (tarjeta sanitaria)