Healthcare in Ireland — a guide for Pakistani people and families

Start before anyone in the family becomes unwell. Apply for a PPS Number, find a nearby GP practice, and keep your family’s medical and vaccination records together. GP practices can be full, so contact more than one and ask whether they are accepting new patients.

1. Apply for a PPS Number. It is used for Medical Card, GP Visit Card and other public-service applications.
2. Find a GP. Use the HSE directory, then contact the practice directly to ask about availability and fees.
3. Bring records for every family member. Include medicines, allergies, diagnoses, recent results and vaccination history.
4. Check your insurance conditions. Some non-EEA immigration permissions, particularly student permissions, require private medical insurance.
5. Learn the local options. Know your GP out-of-hours service, nearest Injury Unit and nearest emergency department.

Ireland uses an ordinary residence test. You are generally considered ordinarily resident when you have lived in Ireland for at least one year, or can show that you intend to live here for at least one year. Evidence may include your residence permission, employment, tenancy or other proof that Ireland is now your home.

Ordinary residence gives access to public services, but it does not make every service free. Most working adults still pay for GP visits unless they qualify for a Medical Card or GP Visit Card. People visiting temporarily from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK should expect to need insurance and may face the full cost of treatment.

The GP Visit Card and Medical Card are not limited to Irish citizens. The HSE assesses ordinary residence and, for most applicants, household finances and allowable expenses. Families should include relevant rent or mortgage, childcare and travel-to-work costs in an application.

Children under 8 can receive a GP Visit Card without a means test, but registration is not automatic. A parent or guardian must apply. If your household does not qualify for a Medical Card, register for the Drugs Payment Scheme so approved family medicines do not exceed the monthly cap.

Bring enough regular medicine for the move where legally permitted, in the original labelled packaging. Carry a clinician’s letter and a list showing the generic name, strength, dose and reason for each medicine. Brand names can differ between countries.

A prescription issued in Pakistan should not be treated as automatically valid in Ireland. An Irish Doctor may need to review the medicine and issue a new prescription. Some medicines are controlled differently or may not have an exact Irish equivalent, so arrange a review before your supply runs low.

Public maternity care is available without a Medical Card through the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme if you live in Ireland or intend to live here for at least a year. Care is shared between a GP and a maternity hospital or midwife and includes scheduled antenatal care, birth and postnatal checks. Contact a GP and maternity hospital early in pregnancy.

Ireland’s childhood vaccination programme is free. Bring every child’s existing vaccination record so the GP or vaccination team can compare it with the current Irish schedule. Do not restart or repeat vaccines without a healthcare professional checking the record.

If you are more comfortable discussing health in Urdu, Punjabi or another language, tell the service when making the appointment and ask whether a professional interpreter can be arranged. Availability differs by service and location. For important or sensitive conversations, avoid using a child as the interpreter.

Bring your prescription list, vaccination cards, test results and letters from doctors in Pakistan. A short English translation of the key facts can save time, but keep the original documents too. ViscaCare members can talk or text with Mia in their own language and choose to create an English Doctor Summary before an appointment. Mia provides general guidance and healthcare-system information, not medical advice or diagnosis.

Call 112 or 999 for an ambulance, fire service or police. Emergency ambulance help is free. Do not wait for an online appointment if someone has severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, heavy bleeding, loss of consciousness, signs of stroke or another sudden serious problem.

• Emergency department: for serious or life-threatening illness and injury.
• Injury Unit: for many recent minor injuries such as sprains, cuts and suspected minor fractures.
• GP out-of-hours: for urgent GP care when your practice is closed.
• Community pharmacist: for medicine questions and minor, non-urgent concerns.