Health Care in Crete

Crete has, in our opinion, excellent health care. The staff, the standard of service, the cleanliness and the up-to-date facilities sometimes exceed what the UK health service offers.

Rules and fees last checked: October 2026. Always confirm with the official source before you act.

Health Cover for Visitors to Crete

British visitors to Crete use a free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) for state treatment that cannot wait until they get home. According to the NHS guide to applying for a free UK GHIC, the card lasts up to 5 years and gives you state health care on the same basis as a Greek resident. That care is free or carries the same charge a local resident pays. An old UK EHIC stays valid until the expiry date printed on the card, and people with rights under the Withdrawal Agreement can choose a new UK EHIC instead of a GHIC.

The GHIC does not cover treatment in a private clinic or a medical flight back to the UK. The NHS therefore advises travel insurance as well as the card. Apply only through the NHS website, because unofficial sites charge a fee for a card that is free.

Visitors from other EU countries use the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by their own country, as the EU's Your Europe guide to health care on temporary stays explains.

Health Care for Residents of Crete

Residents of Crete use the Greek state health system, run by the National Organisation for Healthcare Services Provision (EOPYY), once they pay Greek social insurance or register a UK S1 form. The state system is not completely free, and you still pay towards some treatment. The old IKA fund no longer exists: social insurance contributions now go to e-EFKA, the Unified Social Security Fund.

GOV.UK's guide to healthcare for UK nationals living in Greece lists 3 usual routes into the Greek system:

• Paying Greek social insurance contributions as an employee or self-employed worker.
• Registering a UK-issued S1 form, for example as a UK State Pensioner.
• Using a UK GHIC or EHIC for a temporary stay as a student or a posted worker.

Residents who do not work and have no registered S1 must take out private health insurance, according to the same GOV.UK guide. You also show proof of health cover when you apply for a visa and when you register as a resident.

How to Register for State Health Care

To register for state health care in Crete, follow the 3 steps that GOV.UK sets out:

1. Register as a resident and get your Greek residence document.
2. Get a Greek social security number (AMKA) at your local citizens' service centre (KEP).
3. Register online with EOPYY using your AMKA, or register your S1 form with EOPYY.

The S1 Form for UK State Pensioners

UK State Pensioners who live in Crete can get Greek state health care paid for by the UK through an S1 form. The S1 also covers some people who receive another exportable UK benefit. To request one, phone NHS Overseas Healthcare Services on +44 (0)191 218 1999. Register the form with EOPYY once you have your AMKA.

A registered S1 gives you and your dependants Greek state health care on the same basis as an insured Greek citizen, plus a UK-issued GHIC or EHIC for travel. GOV.UK adds that UK nationals who lived in the EU before 1 January 2021 and hold a registered UK S1 do not pay for NHS treatment when they visit England. Tell NHS Overseas Healthcare Services when you change address or move back to the UK.

Doctors in Crete

Your first point of contact in the Greek state system is a personal doctor (prosopikos iatros), whom you choose and register with online. The gov.gr service for registering with a personal doctor (in Greek) uses your Taxisnet login and your AMKA. A visit to an EOPYY doctor is free or reduced in cost for registered patients, and prescriptions usually cost around 25% of the medicine's price, according to GOV.UK.

Non-emergency hospital appointments need a referral from an EOPYY doctor, a health centre or a local health unit (TOMY). In our experience, doctors in Crete speak excellent English and keep immaculate surgeries and waiting rooms.

Dentists in Crete

Dentists in Crete do not ask you to register, so you choose whichever dentist you like. In our experience, paying for treatment yourself costs about half of what the same treatment costs privately in the UK.

Hospitals and Emergencies in Crete

In a medical emergency, phone 166 for an ambulance or 112 for all emergency services. The National Centre for Emergency Care (EKAB) says calls to 166 are free from any mobile, landline or phone box. GOV.UK's Greece travel advice lists 112 for ambulance, fire and police, and a 999 call from a UK mobile is transferred to the Greek emergency services.

Hospital treatment in Crete is, in our experience, of a very high standard. Treatment in a state hospital is free for registered patients who have a referral from an EOPYY doctor or health centre, according to GOV.UK. You rarely wait long to be seen, and simple blood tests and X-rays are done quickly. Specialists are called in on demand, and everyone we know has been seen and treated within 1 to 2 hours.

Greek state hospitals have no nursing service as such. Hospitals in Crete expect the patient's family to arrange the nursing. Visiting hours are not fixed either, so family members can attend to the patient's needs, and wards can be busy and noisy as a result.

Pharmacies in Crete

Pharmacists in Greece are highly qualified, and they treat minor ailments and give medical advice. A pharmacist in Crete can dispense a far wider range of medicines without a doctor's prescription than a UK pharmacist can. We have not met a pharmacist who doesn't speak excellent English.

Pharmacies are plentiful in Crete, and there seems to be one on every street corner. In our experience, supermarkets in Crete do not stock medicines, not even a packet of aspirin, so the pharmacy is where you go.

Private Health Care in Crete

Private clinics in Crete offer a high standard of health care to patients with private health insurance or the means to pay. Unlike the Greek state hospitals, the private clinics provide nursing care and private rooms.

Expats can buy private health insurance from a UK insurer that covers people living abroad, or from one of the many insurance companies in Greece. If the clinic has a contract with EOPYY, the state covers only part of the cost and you pay the rest, according to GOV.UK.

Death and Funerals in Crete

The UK government publishes step-by-step guidance for families after a British national dies in Crete or elsewhere in Greece. GOV.UK's guide on what to do after a British person dies in Greece covers registering the death, post-mortems, burial or cremation in Greece, and bringing the body or ashes back to the UK. People of other nationalities can ask their own embassy or consulate for advice.

Cretan funerals follow Greek Orthodox Church practice, mixed with local customs. Our page on funeral traditions in Crete describes these customs in detail.

Staying Healthy on Holiday in Crete

Most holiday illness in Crete comes from too much sun and too little water. These 6 habits prevent most problems:

• Buy travel insurance that covers medical treatment and repatriation before you leave home.
• Avoid long sunbathing sessions between 11am and 3pm, and wear a high-factor sunscreen.
• Drink plenty of water, especially if you drink alcohol in the heat.
• Pack all your medication in your hand luggage.
• Carry your prescription and a letter from your doctor for controlled medicines, and for any condition that may need treatment abroad.
• Note the address of the nearest hospital or health centre when you arrive at your accommodation.

Duty and night chemists in each area sell non-prescription medicines outside normal shop hours. For an ambulance in an emergency, phone 166.