Getting a pediatrician (pediatra) for your child

Terms used

• Centro de salud — The centro de salud is your local public health centre, where your child's pediatrician or family doctor sees patients.
• Tarjeta sanitaria — The tarjeta sanitaria is the regional health card that shows your child's assigned centre and doctor.
• Padrón — The padrón is the town hall register of where you live, used as proof of address.
• Zona básica de salud — The zona básica de salud is the local health area that decides which centre serves your home address.
• Médico de familia — The médico de familia is a family doctor who treats patients of all ages.

Key rules

• Assignment: Your region assigns the centre by home address and names a pediatrician when the tarjeta sanitaria is issued.
• Residence permit: A missing residence permit does not stop a registered child getting care.
• Choice: Choice and change rules are set by each region, and a pediatrician with a full list can refuse new patients.
• Shortages: If no pediatrician is free, your child gets a family doctor or a pediatrician at a nearby centre.

How your child gets a pediatrician

Your child is given a named pediatrician and a centro de salud when you register them for the tarjeta sanitaria. The regional health service does the assigning, so the forms and screens differ by region, but the steps are much the same.

1. Register your child on the padrón at your town hall.
2. Apply for the tarjeta sanitaria at your local centro de salud or the regional health office. You can usually do this in person or online.
3. The system assigns the centre for your home address (your zona básica de salud) and a named pediatrician.
4. Your card, or your region's health app, shows who was assigned. Book appointments through the centre, the app or by phone.

The documents list below shows what to take. Some regions and centres ask for different papers, so check with your regional health service.

Who is covered

Your child needs identity papers, the padrón registration and proof of entitlement to public coverage. Coverage usually comes in one of three ways:

• A parent is affiliated to Social Security and your child is a dependent beneficiary.
• Your child lives in Spain without other coverage and qualifies under the universal access rules.
• You hold EU coverage (EHIC or S1).

Children registered as residents get care on the same terms as Spanish children. A missing residence permit does not block access. Short-stay visitors are covered only by an EHIC or private insurance.

Choosing and changing

The default is the centre for your home address. Most regions let you ask for another centre or pediatrician, subject to free places. Choice rules are regional:

• Madrid lets you choose any centre and doctor across the whole region.
• Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia and Galicia accept requests to change, within or outside your area, usually if the professional has capacity.
• The Basque Country and Navarra accept changes with a reason or when places are available.

A pediatrician with a full list can refuse new patients, so you may be offered someone else.

To change pediatrician within the same centre, ask at the admissions desk (admisión or atención al usuario), through the regional health app or website, or by phone. It usually takes effect within days to a few weeks, depending on the other pediatrician's capacity. Some regions limit changes, for example to one a year, unless you have a justified reason.

If there is no pediatrician available

In some rural and urban areas there are vacancies. Then your child is assigned in one of these ways:

• To a family doctor (médico de familia) at the centre, often with a pediatric nurse.
• To a pediatrician at a nearby centre.

This is common in Madrid, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Galicia. Colleagues cover absences. Urgent cases go to urgencias or a hospital emergency department, not to a waiting list. If you are given a family doctor, you can ask the centre to put your child on a pediatrician's list when a place opens. The arrangement changes as vacancies are filled, so ask the centre.

Before the first visit

The checklist below shows what to bring, and the summary template below helps you hand over your child's health history. The decision and warnings below help you choose between keeping the assigned centre and asking for a change.

Choosing between options

Do you keep the centro de salud and pediatrician you are given, or ask for a different one?

• Keep the centre for your home address: Choose this when a named pediatrician is assigned and the centre is convenient. It is the default.

• Ask for another centre or pediatrician: Choose this when you want a different centre or doctor. Most regions allow it if places are available. Madrid allows free choice across the whole region, and regions such as Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia and Galicia allow requests for a change, subject to the doctor's capacity.

• Accept a family doctor for now: Choose this when your centre has no pediatrician. The family doctor, often with a pediatric nurse, looks after your child, and you can ask for a pediatrician at a nearby centre.

Start with the centre for your home address. If your child has a pediatrician there, keep them or ask for a change where places allow.

Documents you need

• Your child's passport, NIE or DNI, as proof of identity.

• Your child's padrón certificate, issued by your town hall, showing your home address.

• Proof that your child is entitled to public coverage: a parent affiliated to Social Security (your child as a dependent), residence under the universal access rules, or EU health card (EHIC) or S1 coverage.

• A parent's tarjeta sanitaria or Social Security number, which some regions also ask for.

What to bring to your child's first pediatric visit

Bring to the first visit

• Bring your child's health card (tarjeta sanitaria individual), or the registration document if the card is still pending.

• Bring your own ID: DNI, NIE or passport.

• Bring your child's passport or ID and proof of address (empadronamiento, your town hall registration).

• Bring the original vaccination card (cartilla de vacunación) with the vaccine names and the date of each dose.

• Gather previous medical reports, discharge reports, allergy and medication details and any earlier test results.

• Bring the original growth measurements with dates: weight, length or height and head circumference.

• Add a translation if you have one. Records in Spanish, English, French or Portuguese are read as they are, and no apostille or sworn translation is needed for the visit.

• For a newborn, bring the birth report and the Spanish child health booklet (carnet de salud infantil) if you have it.

• If you have no vaccination records, tell the nurse or pediatrician so they can start a catch-up schedule.

What to watch out for

• Your chosen pediatrician may have a full list: A pediatrician can refuse new patients when their list is full, so choosing one does not guarantee a place. Ask the admissions desk which pediatricians at the centre or nearby have places, and name a second choice.

• Your child may be given a family doctor, not a pediatrician: Where there is a pediatric shortage, as in parts of Madrid, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Galicia, a child is often assigned to a family doctor, usually with a pediatric nurse. Ask whether a pediatrician at a nearby centre can take your child, and ask when the post at your centre is expected to be filled.

• Urgent problems cannot wait for an appointment: If no pediatrician is available and your child is seriously unwell, waiting for a routine appointment can delay care.

Child health summary to hand a new pediatrician

Fill in the blanks once, then print it or send it with the original records. Keep the Spanish terms: staff will recognise them even if you write the answers in English. Bring the original vaccination card and any hospital reports as well.

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Child

• Full name: ________
• Date of birth: ________
• Sex: ________
• Country of birth: ________
• Languages spoken at home: ________
• Health card number (tarjeta sanitaria), if you have it: ________

Parent or guardian

• Name: ________
• Phone and email: ________
• Language for appointments: ________

Reason for the visit (motivo de consulta)

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Family history (antecedentes familiares) Note any of these in parents, siblings or grandparents: hereditary diseases, allergies, asthma, diabetes, heart disease. Also note whether the parents are related by blood (consanguinidad).

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Pregnancy and birth (embarazo y parto)

• Weeks of pregnancy (semanas de gestación): ________
• Birth weight (peso al nacer): ________
• Birth length: ________
• Head circumference at birth (perímetro cefálico): ________
• Apgar score, if known: ________
• Type of delivery (parto vaginal / cesárea): ________
• Problems in the newborn period (complicaciones neonatales): ________
• Newborn screening, including the heel-prick test (cribado neonatal / prueba del talón): done / not done / result ________

Personal history (antecedentes personales)

• Previous illnesses: ________
• Hospital stays (ingresos), with dates and reason: ________
• Surgeries (intervenciones): ________
• Ongoing conditions (enfermedades crónicas): ________

Allergies (alergias)

• To medicines (medicamentosas): ________
• To food (alimentarias): ________
• Current regular medication (medicación habitual), with dose: ________

Vaccines (vacunas puestas) Copy from the vaccination card (cartilla de vacunación). Add rows as needed.

• Vaccines missed or not given: ________
• Any bad reaction to a vaccine: ________

Feeding (alimentación)

• Breast or formula (lactancia materna / artificial), and until what age: ________
• Age when solid foods started (alimentación complementaria): ________
• Current diet and any restrictions: ________

Growth (peso, talla, percentiles) Write the original measurements and the date of each, not just the percentile. Include head circumference for young children.

Development (desarrollo psicomotor) Approximate age when your child first did each of these:

• Held the head up (sostén cefálico): ________
• Sat without support (sedestación): ________
• Walked (marcha): ________
• First words and current language level (lenguaje): ________
• Any concerns about development, or therapy received: ________

Hearing and vision (audición, visión)

• Hearing tests and results: ________
• Eye tests, glasses: ________

Sleep (sueño) Usual hours and any problems: ________

Toilet habits (control de esfínteres, deposiciones)

• Toilet training status: ________
• Bowel or bladder concerns: ________

Routine check-ups (revisiones del programa del niño sano) Date and place of the last routine check-up: ________

Social context (situación familiar, guardería, colegio)

• Who lives at home: ________
• Nursery or school (guardería / colegio) and year: ________
• Progress at school or learning support (escolarización): ________

Documents I am bringing

• Original vaccination card
• Hospital discharge reports
• Allergy or chronic-condition documents
• Growth records

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch my child to another pediatrician at the same centro de salud?

Yes, you can usually ask to switch pediatrician within the same centre if the other pediatrician has room on their list.

Does my child need a residence permit to get a pediatrician?

No, a registered foreign child does not need a residence permit to get care on the same terms as Spanish children. Your child still needs a passport, NIE or DNI, registration on the padrón and a coverage route, such as being a dependent of a parent in Social Security. Some regions also ask for a parent's health card.

What if my child's tarjeta sanitaria shows a family doctor instead of a pediatrician?

This happens where pediatricians are in short supply, and the family doctor usually works with a pediatric nurse.