Health, pharmacies and travel insurance

Dutch healthcare is excellent and it is organised on one principle that visitors consistently trip over: the general practitioner is the gate, and almost everything goes through it. You do not walk into a hospital with a chest infection, you do not turn up at accident and emergency with a sprained ankle, and you cannot buy most useful medicines off a shelf. Nothing here is hard once you know the shape of it, and knowing the shape is worth ten minutes before you fly, because working it out at eleven at night with a sick child is the wrong time.

Insurance first

Carry travel insurance that covers medical care, trip interruption, theft and the activities you plan to do. EU/UK visitors should still check EHIC or GHIC limits.

The limits are the point, so here they are plainly. A European Health Insurance Card entitles you to any medical treatment that cannot wait until you get home, on the same terms as a person insured in the country you are visiting. That is a genuinely strong entitlement and it is not the same thing as free. It does not cover private healthcare, it does not cover treatment you travelled here to get, and — the one that ruins holidays — it does not cover rescue or repatriation. Getting home after a serious illness or accident needs separate insurance, and the bill for an air ambulance is not the kind of number you want to meet unprepared.

The UK Global Health Insurance Card works the same way: it gets you necessary state healthcare in the European Economic Area on the same basis as a resident, including accident and emergency treatment and routine care for a long-term or pre-existing condition. It is free, it lasts up to five years, and it likewise excludes medical repatriation, treatment in a private facility and mountain rescue. Apply through the official NHS service; the sites that charge a fee for it are selling you a free thing.

What a tourist actually does when ill

Work down this list and you will land in the right place almost every time.

Something minor — a cold, a mild stomach upset, blisters, hay fever, a hangover: go to a chemist or a supermarket. You do not need anybody's permission and it will cost very little.

Something that needs a doctor but is not urgent — an infection, a rash that is spreading, a persistent fever, a prescription you need refilled: you need a huisarts/HOUSE-arts/— general practitioner. Ask your hotel reception, which will know the practice that takes visitors, and expect to be assessed by telephone first. Larger cities also have private doctor services aimed specifically at travellers, which will come to a hotel room; they cost more and your hotel will have the number.

Something urgent but not life-threatening, outside normal surgery hours — the evening, the night, a weekend, a public holiday: individual practices hand over to a regional out-of-hours GP centre, a huisartsenpost/HOUSE-arts-uh-post/— out-of-hours GP centre. You telephone first. A trained triage nurse decides what happens next: advice to manage it where you are, an appointment at the centre, a doctor to come to you, or a referral onward to a hospital. Turning up at the door without calling is the wrong move.

Something life-threatening — chest pain, difficulty breathing, heavy bleeding, unconsciousness, a serious fall: call 112 immediately. It is free from any phone and the operators handle English.

Pharmacies

Look for apotheek for prescription pharmacy services and drogist chains for basic over-the-counter items. Opening hours vary, and emergency pharmacies rotate after hours.

The Dutch split medicines into four classes and it explains exactly where to walk. Prescription-only medicines can be bought at an apotheek/ah-poh-TAKE/— pharmacy and nowhere else. A second group is over the counter but pharmacy-only, so that staff can explain how to use it safely. A third group may be sold by a pharmacy or by a drogist/droh-KHIST/— chemist, with advice from the assistant. Only the lowest-risk group — everyday painkillers, nicotine patches and similar — is sold in supermarkets and petrol stations.

The practical consequence is that Dutch supermarket shelves are much thinner than visitors expect. Things you buy freely at home may sit behind a counter here, and the fix is to walk into a drogist and ask rather than assume the country does not stock it. Staff speak English and will tell you which of the three counters you need.

Outside normal hours, pharmacies in an area take turns providing emergency cover. The rota is posted at pharmacy doors and available by telephone; your hotel or the out-of-hours GP service will point you at whichever one is on duty.

Prescriptions

Bring medicines in original packaging and carry a prescription or doctor's letter for controlled medication. Check rules before traveling with strong painkillers or ADHD medication.

The rule behind that advice is worth knowing because it is specific and it has a form. Medicines covered by the Dutch Opium Act — sleeping tablets, strong painkillers, ADHD medication and medical cannabis among them — require a Schengen certificate when carried between Schengen countries, and a medical certificate when travelling outside the area. It is signed by your doctor, states that the medicine is for your own or your child's use, and is validated by the Dutch central administrative office. A Schengen certificate is valid for thirty days, so a longer trip needs more than one.

If you are travelling from outside Schengen with a controlled medicine, get the equivalent documentation from your own authorities before you fly rather than after you land. And in every case, keep everything in the original labelled packaging: that is what makes it obvious to an official that you are carrying medicine rather than drugs. Ask your pharmacist whether what you take is affected — the classification is not intuitive, and plenty of common prescriptions are on the list.

Urgent care

Call 112 for emergencies. For non-emergency medical help, hotels can help direct you to a huisarts service or urgent-care route.

Two more numbers worth having. 0900-8844 is the police non-emergency line, which is where a theft or a lost passport goes rather than 112 — safety has the full set. And your travel insurer's twenty-four-hour assistance line should be in your phone before you leave home, because they will want to authorise anything expensive while it is happening rather than reimburse it afterwards.

Dental emergencies work like medical ones: regional emergency dental helplines exist, your hotel or the out-of-hours GP service can point you at the one covering the area, and your own dentist at home may have a partner arrangement worth checking first.

Weather health

Rain, wind and sudden temperature swings are normal. Pack layers and waterproof shoes before spending money on avoidable replacement gear.

Two additions from experience. Dutch tap water is excellent, so carry a refillable bottle rather than dehydrating your way around a museum. And the thing that actually injures visitors here is not the weather at all — it is a cobbled street, wet, in shoes with no grip, or a very steep seventeenth-century staircase. Flat shoes with a real sole are a medical precaution as much as a comfort one. Packing and weather covers the rest, and accessibility covers the stairs and the cobbles in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need travel insurance if I have an EHIC or GHIC?

Yes, without exception. Neither card covers repatriation, private treatment, cancellation or theft, and getting home after a serious accident is the single largest bill a traveller can face. Carry both.

Can I just walk into a Dutch hospital?

You can, but you should not unless it is a genuine emergency. Almost everything routes through a GP or the out-of-hours GP service first, and starting at the emergency department means a long wait and a bill you did not need to incur.

Will a doctor see me if I am only visiting?

Yes. Practices treat visitors, and hotels know which local ones do it routinely. Expect a telephone assessment before an appointment; that is standard here and not a brush-off.

Where do I buy painkillers?

Everyday painkillers are sold in supermarkets, petrol stations and chemists. Anything stronger, and a good deal that is over the counter at home, sits behind a counter at a chemist or is pharmacy-only. Ask; the staff speak English.

Do people speak English in Dutch surgeries and pharmacies?

Effectively always. Dutch medical staff work in English routinely and you will not need a word of Dutch to be understood or treated.

Can I bring my ADHD medication or strong painkillers?

Usually yes, with documentation. Medicines under the Opium Act need a signed and validated certificate, valid for thirty days at a time, and must travel in original packaging. Sort this weeks ahead, not the night before.

What if I run out of a prescription while I am here?

See a GP. A Dutch doctor can prescribe within the Netherlands, and a pharmacy can dispense against that prescription. Bring the original packaging or a letter naming the active ingredient rather than the brand, because brand names differ between countries.

Are vaccinations required to visit the Netherlands?

No specific vaccinations are required for a normal tourist visit. Keep your routine immunisations up to date, as you would anywhere, and check your own country's travel health advice before you fly.