The Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa) has put together information for refugees on health services in Estonia, which you can read here.

Ambulance 112

The emergency number is 112. 

If a health problem occurs unexpectedly and is very serious - for example, serious illness, trauma or poisoning - the person must call the ambulance or go to the hospital emergency department.

Everyone in Estonia is entitled to free emergency health care, including ambulance services, including foreigners and people without health insurance. 

Ambulances help people who need assistance in case of injury or acute illness. The ambulance will diagnose, give first aid and instructions for treatment and, if necessary, take the person to hospital. The ambulance is available 24 hours a day and is intended to provide emergency medical care.

If you are in doubt about whether you need to call an ambulance, call the 24/7 GP helpline 1220 for advice about your condition. In case of poisoning, you can get urgent help by calling the poison information number 16 662.

Read more about the ambulance service on the Health Board website. 

Emergency department (EMO)

A person in urgent need can also go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital on their own. 

Emergency medical care is for anyone who has a sudden and very serious health problem, for example if you suspect that your or a loved one's condition could lead to death or permanent disability. 

Read more about this on the Health Insurance Fund website. 

Family doctor info line 1220

You can call the family doctor's advice line 1220 with health questions in Estonian or Russian at any time. Free of charge or from abroad, call +372 634 6630. English advice is available daily from 15.00 to 17.00.

Call the advice line if: 

• you want to know whether you need to go to the emergency department, to your family doctor or if you can manage your health problems at home;
• if you have a health problem outside working hours, on public holidays or on public holidays;
• you are away from home or abroad and cannot see your family doctor;
• you would like information on the organisation of the Estonian health care system (how to change your family doctor, which specialist to see, etc.);
• you need a personalised consultation. With the person's permission, the counsellor can see the caller's medical records, such as illnesses suffered, medicines prescribed and tests performed. The consulting doctor transmits all the information about the consultation to the digital record so that the person's family doctor is also aware of the health concerns of the patient. 
• If necessary, advice hotline doctors will extend prescriptions on Friday evenings, weekends and public holidays. 

Read more about the advice line services here.

Family doctors

To solve a health problem, you should first see your family doctor. A family doctor diagnoses and treats most illnesses. If necessary, they will refer you for tests or to a specialist, take tests, give vaccinations, dress wounds, remove stitches and make home visits. 

Family doctors provide general medical care to all Ukrainian war refugees (you do not need to be registered with a family doctor to get help). Click here for a list of family doctors' centres providing care for refugees. 

If you can't find a family doctor for you, write to the Health Insurance Fund at info@tervisekassa.ee or call the family doctor's advice line on 1220 or the Health Insurance Fund's information line on +372 669 663. The Health Insurance Fund has a dedicated person to help people find their own family doctor.

Find out more about family doctor services on the Health Insurance Fund website.  

Patients are usually referred to a specialist by their family doctor, as most of the time a referral letter is needed. Without a referral, you can see an ophthalmologist, a dermatologist, a gynaecologist and a psychiatrist.

The Health Insurance Fund will only pay for the health care services of an insured person if the institution has a contract with the Health Insurance Fund. Health Insurance Fund contracted partners serve all insured persons, regardless of where they live. Patients have the right to choose a specialist doctor and an appointment at any health institution they wish.

Read more about special medical care on the Health Insurance Fund website .

The Health Insurance Fund finances dental care for all insured persons on the same terms. In Estonia, it is possible to receive a dental allowance, for details of the conditions of which click here. 

All adults have the right to free, unavoidable dental treatment, whether they have health insurance or not.

Dental treatment for children up to 19 years of age is free of charge and paid for by the Health Insurance Fund. The client has to pay a visit fee. 

Health insurance will only reimburse the costs of treatment at the Health Insurance Fund's contracted partners - if dental treatment is received at an institution that is not on the list of contracted partners, the person must pay for the service in full. 

In Estonia, dentists are taught at the University of Tartu, and student admissions are free of charge or at a great discount. All treatment is supervised by a supervising medical lecturer. More information can be found here.

Youth counselling centres

You can find a wide range of information on sexual health on the online portal Seksuaaltervis.ee. It provides information on sexual development, contraception, STIs, consent to sex, etc. The portal also allows you to ask anonymous questions to counsellors.  

Visits to the counselling centres are free of charge for all young people up to the age of 26, regardless of whether they have health insurance. 

The counselling centres provide information on and renewal of prescriptions for contraceptives, diagnosis of pregnancy and STIs, counselling on all sexuality-related issues and psychological counselling. 

You can find the contact details of counselling centres all over Estonia here on Seksuaaltervis webpage.

Pregnancy

You can read more about pregnancy, pregnancy diagnosis, pregnancy registration, pregnancy monitoring and childbirth on sexuaaltervis.ee.

If you have a positive pregnancy test, you should see a gynaecologist or midwife. You can see a gynaecologist without a referral. You must also register as pregnant if you arrive in Estonia pregnant.

You can find hospitals in Estonia that provide antenatal care and maternity services here. 

Termination of pregnancy

Abortion is legal in Estonia. At the woman's own request and on the basis of a written statement, a pregnancy that has lasted less than 12 weeks is terminated. For medical reasons, a pregnancy of less than 22 weeks may be terminated. 

You can read more about termination of pregnancy on the Health Insurance Fund website.

Vaccination

Vaccination is voluntary in Estonia. The decision is made by the parent on behalf of their children.

Vaccinations under the national immunisation programme are free of charge for everyone. These include vaccines against tuberculosis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B virus, rotavirus infection, human papillomavirus (HPV), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilus haemophilus type B infection.

In addition, it is possible to be vaccinated against a number of infectious diseases, which should be considered for people at risk of infection. For example, there are highly effective vaccines against influenza, tick-borne encephalitis, chickenpox, shingles, viral hepatitis A, pneumococcal infection, cholera, rabies and meningococcal infection.

Read more about vaccination at vaccinate.ee.

Screening

Screening is a health check-up designed to detect breast, cervical or colorectal cancer at an early stage, especially in healthy people of a certain age without symptoms or complaints.

Participation in screening is free of charge for all people screened, irrespective of whether they have health insurance. Any further tests and treatment needed if detected during screening are also free of charge.

Screening is open to people whose year of birth falls within the screening target group and whose place of residence is Estonia. If you are eligible for screening in a given year, you can contact the centre directly to book an appointment.

Read more about screening on the Health Insurance Fund website.