Your child is ill: who to call and where to go

Terms used

• Centro de salud — The centro de salud is your local public health centre, where your family doctor and your child's pediatrician see patients.
• Urgencias — Urgencias is the emergency department of a hospital.
• PAC — A PAC (punto de atención continuada) is an out-of-hours primary care point open evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.
• SUAP — A SUAP (servicio de urgencias de atención primaria) is an out-of-hours primary care service, the equivalent of a PAC in some regions.

Key rules

• First stop: For a non-emergency illness, ask your centro de salud for a same-day sick-child slot.
• Out of hours: When the centre is closed, use your PAC or SUAP rather than going straight to hospital.
• Hospital: Go to urgencias only when warning signs appear, and call 112 if your child is in immediate danger.
• Unsure: Call 061 or your regional health line for advice if you cannot tell how serious it is.

Start with your centro de salud

For an ordinary illness, ask your centro de salud for a same-day slot. You do not need a hospital for this. Public centres keep urgent slots for sick children, often called cita de urgencia or cita en el día. Say clearly that your child is ill when you book.

Phone the centre or go in early in the morning. A nurse or administrative staff member may ask a few questions first. Your child's pediatrician, or the doctor on duty, then sees them that day. Some regions add a short phone consultation before the visit. How fast you are seen depends on the centre and its staff.

How to book

• Phone: call the centre or your region's appointment line. This is usually the quickest way to get a same-day slot.
• In person: go to the admissions desk if the phone is busy or no slot is offered.
• App or web: each region has its own, such as Cita Sanitaria or La Meva Salut in Catalonia, Cita Previa Sanidad in Madrid, Salud Responde or ClicSalud+ in Andalucía, and Cita Previa in Valencia. You need your child's health card or your digital certificate. Some apps only offer routine slots, so phone if you see none for today.

When the centre is closed

In the evenings, at night, at weekends and on holidays, go to an out-of-hours care point. Depending on your region it is called a PAC or a SUAP. They are staffed mainly by general doctors, and they treat children. Which one serves you depends on your health district, so ask your centre which one is yours.

Larger hospitals also have children's urgencias (urgencias pediátricas). You can go straight there for more serious problems.

Not sure how serious it is?

Call 061 in many regions, or your regional health line. In Catalonia that is 061 CatSalut Respon. They can tell you whether to wait, book a visit or go to hospital. A doctor can also advise you.

Go to hospital urgencias when you see warning signs

Do not wait for a slot if your child has any of these:

• difficulty breathing, fast or laboured breathing, or blue or pale lips
• a seizure
• loss of consciousness, unusual drowsiness or being hard to wake
• a stiff neck, or a rash that does not fade when pressed
• fever in a baby under 3 months
• a high fever that stays up despite medicine
• repeated vomiting, or signs of dehydration: no urine for 8 hours or more, dry mouth, sunken eyes
• vomiting blood or green bile
• severe or lasting tummy pain
• a severe head injury, suspected poisoning or a severe allergic reaction
• crying you cannot soothe

Call 112 if your child is in immediate danger.

The timeline and checklist below repeat these steps in order. The quick answers cover switching pediatrician and keeping a child home from nursery or school.

Timeline and deadlines

From first symptoms to urgencias

• Phone or visit your centro de salud and ask for a same-day sick-child slot: the same day you notice the illness, when there are no warning signs

• Call 061 or a doctor for advice if you are unsure whether the signs are serious: as soon as you are in doubt

• Take a baby with any fever to hospital urgencias: straight away if the baby is under 3 months old, at any hour

• Go to hospital urgencias if your child shows signs of dehydration: dry mouth, sunken eyes or repeated vomiting: when your child has passed no urine for 8 hours or more

• Go to hospital urgencias for difficulty breathing, blue or pale lips, a seizure, a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade when pressed, or unusual drowsiness: as soon as any of these signs appears

• Call 112: right away if your child is in immediate danger

Checklist

Booking a sick-child appointment

• Phone your centro de salud or your regional appointment line and ask for a same-day sick-child slot.

• Go to the admissions desk of your centro de salud in person if the phone is busy or no slot is offered.

• Have your child's health card or your digital certificate ready before you book by app or web.

• Try your regional health app or web booking if you prefer to book online, and phone if it only shows routine slots.

• Go to hospital urgencias instead of waiting for a slot if a warning sign appears.

Quick answers on child appointments and sick days

Can I switch to another pediatrician in the same centro de salud?

Yes, you can usually ask to change pediatrician within the same centre, if the other pediatrician has room on their list. Ask at the admissions desk (admisión or atención al usuario), through your regional health app or website, or by phone. The change usually takes effect within days to a few weeks, and some regions limit changes to about once a year unless you have a justified reason.

Can I get a same-day pediatric appointment if it is not an emergency?

Yes, public centros de salud keep urgent same-day slots (cita en el día) for sick children, so you do not need the hospital. Phone or go to the centre early in the morning, or use the regional app, and say your child is ill.

How long should my child with fever stay home from nursery or school?

Your child should stay home until they have been without fever for 24 hours without medication. For vomiting or diarrhea, keep them home until symptoms have stopped, usually 24 to 48 hours. Spain has no single national duration, so check your school's own rules too.