What can you do if you have a medical issue or a medical emergency? The most important steps and pieces of information are collected on this page. Please follow the necessary steps if you need medical assistance.

• Students with Hungarian state scholarship (SH, Diaspora, Young Chirstians, Tempus, etc.) should have a TAJ number and card. With the TAJ number all treatments are available with no cost.
• Self-paying and non-European mobility students (with no sholarship) must have their own health insurance: Generali (can be purchased at ELTE) or another private one of their choice.
• Students with EU citizenship should have the free European Health Insurance Card that ensures emergency and basic treatments with no additional costs.

Insurance is 'biztosítás' in Hungarian, while health insurance is 'egészség biztosítás'.

If you need any help or advice, please turn to your coordinator at the Department of International Affairs.

Please also notify your coordinator if you have a serious medical issue or hospital treatment.

If you have COVID symptoms or a positive COVID test, please check the separate COVID site.

Emergency medical situations

Emergency treatment is available for everyone; however, if you do not have a valid health insurance, you will receive the bill of the treatment afterwards.

• Visit the Emergency (ER) department of the nearest hospital. The ER is 'traumatológia' or 'baleseti' or 'sürgősségi' in Hungarian.
• Call the ambulance if necessary.

With what symptoms should I visit the Emergency?

You should only visit the hospital if experiencing dangerous, life-threatening symptoms! Some of these symptoms could be: 

• broken bone, twisted joints or limbs, severe injuries
• severe or increased difficulty breathing, suffocation (shortness of breath, bluish lips, pallor)  
• severe or increased chest or abdominal pain  
• fainting, loss of consciousness  
• sudden severe dizziness, or sudden visual disturbances or speech problems
• severe, sudden movement disorder, paralysis  
• confusion perceived by the environment  
• spitting or vomiting blood, or uncontrollable bleeding  
• persistent, increasing vomiting or diarrhoea
• unbearable pain

How long do I have to wait at the Emergency? 

The waiting hours at hospitals are dependent largely on how serious your symptoms are, and how many people are waiting for examinations. If you visit the hospital with symptoms that are not severe or fatal, you could even expect a waiting time of up to 4-6 hours!

When is it necessary to call an ambulance? 

If the situation is life-threatening, and you or your peer cannot be safely transported to the hospital, please call 112 to ask for an ambulance. Please note that the ambulance must ONLY be called in serious situations. If you call the ambulance for unjustified reasons, you might get a fine!

Ambulance is 'mentő' in Hungarian.

Hospitals that operate non-stop emergency rooms

The word 'kórház' means 'hospital' in Hungarian.

• Szent Imre Kórház: 1115 Budapest, Tétényi út 12-16. (Building A)
• Semmelweis Egyetem: 1082 Budapest, Üllői út 78a. (Enter from Szigony utca)
• Honvéd Kórház: 1134 Budapest, Róbert Károly körút 44.
• Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Kórház: 1106 Budapest, Maglódi út 89-91. (Building H)
• Jahn Ferenc Dél-pesti Kórház: 1204 Budapest, Köves út 1.
• Uzsoki Utcai Kórház: 1145 Budapest, Róna u 196-212.

Non-emergency medical assistance

If you feel sick or have a non-emergency medical issue, you always have to go to your GP (general practicioner doctor, 'háziorvos' in Hungarian). You can discuss the symptoms and the issue with the GP, he/she examines you, gives you medicine or sends you to further examinations to specialists. In Hungary, most of the specialists can only be visited with a so called 'beutaló' from the GP. The 'beutaló' is a document in which the GP requests further examination from the specialist.

Since COVID, most of the GPs require to book an appointment in advance. In the case of the specialists, it is possible to visit them only with a booked appointment. Unfortunately, the waiting time to get to the specialist can be up to 2-3 months, sometimes more. Please take into consideration that the mentioned 'beutaló' document is valid only for 3 months. If your appointment is later, you need a new 'beutaló'.

How to find my GP?

In Hungary, the GP is related to one's address. You have to find your GP responsible for treatment of your area of residency.

• If you do not live in Budapest: smaller towns and villages have only one GP.
• If you live in a bigger city: you have to find the GP responsible for the area of your residency. If you need help with this, turn to your international coordinator.
• If you live in Budapest: you have to find the GP responsible for the area of your residency. See below.

How do I know which district I live in Budapest?

Check your 4-digit postcode: the two middle digits indicate your district. E.g. Kőrösi dorm’s postcode is 1118, which means it is located in district 11.

District is "kerület" in Hungarian.

Dentist

Dentist ('fogorvos' in Hungarian) service is available both on state and private basis. Many times the private insurances do not cover the non-emergency dental treatments, so always check if your insurance includes them. Private dentists can easily be found all over the country by Google.

Budapest GP and state-funded dentist information

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

District 9

District 10

District 11

District 12

District 13

District 14

District 15

District 16

District 17

District 18

District 19

District 20

District 21

District 22

District 23