Health, vaccinations and medical care in Switzerland

Cover

• EU, EEA and UK visitors: the EHIC and GHIC are valid in Switzerland. They give you state-priced treatment on the same terms as an insured resident.
• Swiss residents pay a large excess themselves, so "the same terms as a local" still means a bill. This is not the NHS.
• Expect to pay up front at some providers and claim afterwards. Keep every receipt.
• Everyone else needs proper travel insurance, and Switzerland is the country where a thin policy shows.
• Check the policy covers mountain rescue, winter sports and repatriation as separate line items.

Getting treated

• Standards are outstanding and English is widely spoken by medical staff.
• Go to a hospital emergency department (Notfall) for anything urgent, or a walk-in Permanence clinic in the cities for the less serious.
• A GP appointment costs CHF 100 to CHF 200 without cover.
• Pharmacies (Apotheke, pharmacie, farmacia) are excellent and pharmacists can treat minor problems directly.
• Every region has a duty pharmacy out of hours, posted on the doors of the closed ones.

The mountains again

• 1414 is Rega, the air rescue service. It is not 144 and it is the number to have.
• Rescue is not covered by the EHIC. It is a separate cost and it averages CHF 4,500.
• Altitude sickness starts to matter above about 2,500 m, and Switzerland has cable cars that take you from 600 m to 3,400 m in half an hour. Take it slowly on the Jungfraujoch and the Klein Matterhorn.
• Alpine sun burns very fast and reflects off snow. High-factor sunscreen is not optional in the mountains, in any season.

Everyday health

• Tap water is superb everywhere. Public fountains are drinking water unless signed otherwise.
• Ticks carry encephalitis in Swiss forests below about 1,500 m. The Federal Office of Public Health recommends vaccination for people spending time in wooded areas. Check yourself after walks.
• Food safety is not a concern.
• No vaccinations are required to enter.