Health care in Florianópolis — health centers, clinics, UPA and hospitals by neighborhood

How the network is organised: four levels

The order matters because it decides where they will actually accept you.

1. Centro de Saúde (CS) — the local primary clinic. General practitioner, paediatrician, midwife, vaccinations, prescriptions, prenatal care, referrals. Care by place of residence: the neighborhood determines which CS is yours.
2. Policlínica — specialists: cardiologist, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist. Only by referral from CS; they do not accept walk-ins.
3. UPA — 24-hour urgent care: fever, trauma, pain, stitches, x-ray, tests, ECG. No appointment or referral needed.
4. Hospital — inpatient care and emergency assistance when life is at risk.

Hours and how to find your center

All health centers — 07:00–19:00 on weekdays. Two operate longer and on weekends: Coqueiros and Trindade — 07:00–22:00 on weekdays and 10:00–22:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The extended hours were introduced on 3 Apr 2023, and in the late hours they prioritise patients with suspected dengue.

Which center is yours is determined by your residential address, not distance. Find out by calling Alô Saúde or your health district. The city is divided into four:

A foreigner’s right to all of this is explained in Medical care and insurance in Brazil: the system is obliged to accept anyone in the country.

Health centers: north of the island

Ingleses, Canasvieiras, Jurerê, Cachoeira, Rio Vermelho, Santo Antônio.

Ingleses has three health centers, not one: Ingleses in the interior of the neighborhood, Capivari on the João Gualberto Soares road and Santinho beyond the hill. Which is yours is determined by your residential address, and it’s worth asking at any of them.

Health centers: centre and east of the island

Centro, Trindade, Itacorubi, Lagoa, Barra da Lagoa.

Costa da Lagoa is special: there is no road to it, you reach it by boat from Canto da Lagoa. It is the only health center in the city reached by water.

Health centers: south of the island

Campeche, Rio Tavares, Armação, Pântano do Sul, Ribeirão.

Health centers: mainland

Estreito, Coqueiros, Capoeiras, Balneário, Monte Cristo.

Polyclinics: specialists by referral

Four municipal polyclinics, open 07:00–19:00 on weekdays.

There is also Policlínica da Mulher e da Criança — Rua Esteves Júnior, 89, Centro, (48) 3240-5525: women’s and children’s health, high-risk pregnancy, see Pregnancy and childbirth in Florianópolis — registration, tests, maternity hospitals, what to take with you.

Policlínica Norte shares the same site as UPA Norte, Policlínica Sul is next to UPA Sul. By day on weekdays these are different desks at the same address; at night only the UPA is open.

UPA: 24/7, no appointment and no referral

Three units, 24 hours 7 days a week:

What they do there: physician consultations, minor surgery (stitches, drainage), x-ray, laboratory tests, ECG, dental emergency, HIV prophylaxis after exposure. This is not a hospital emergency room: for heart attack, stroke, severe trauma and childbirth, call 192.

The difference from a health center: a CS works by appointment and registration, a UPA without either. For a newcomer without an address and without Cartão SUS, UPA often turns out to be the only working entry point to the system.

Who to call

Alô Saúde is a free medical consultation by phone, the municipal preclinical assistance line. The call is free and with no limit on the number of contacts; nurses respond and it works by phone, video call and chat. What they do there:

• tell you where to go — to a health center, to a UPA or to a hospital, and whether you need to go now;
• book appointments with the family doctor or nurse;
• transfer to a teleconsultation with a doctor, if that is sufficient;
• register you in SUS during the call, if you are not yet registered.

The last point is the main thing for a newcomer: the service is aimed at city residents registered in SUS, but lack of registration is not a reason for refusal — the operator creates it on the spot. So before your first visit to a clinic you can sort things out from home and be ready for the conversation.

The line does not provide diagnoses and does not issue prescriptions.

Hospitals of Florianópolis

Public hospitals are obliged to accept an emergency patient and provide care for free, regardless of documents and citizenship. Private hospitals — through insurance or private payment, except in case of direct threat to life.

Hospitals in other cities: Where to go to see a doctor — private and public hospitals by Brazilian cities (in Russian). City overview: Florianópolis — a quick guide. Tests and imaging: Lab tests, ultrasounds and scans in Florianópolis — where to get them and how it works.

Sources

1. T1CNES — National Register of Health Establishments, Ministério da Saúde do Brasil: 1025 establishments of Florianópolis with addresses, phones, type and SUS operation indicatorapidadosabertos.saude.gov.br · primary source
2. T1Prefeitura de Florianópolis, Secretaria de Saúde — polyclinics: addresses, hours, phonespmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
3. T1Prefeitura de Florianópolis — three UPAs: addresses, phones, 24-hour service, services providedpmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
4. T1Alô Saúde Floripa — municipal 24-hour line 0800 333 3233, preclinical nurse consultationpmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
5. T1Prefeitura de Florianópolis — health centres by the four health districts and phones of the districtspmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
6. T2Extended schedule of CS Coqueiros and CS Trindade from 3 Apr 2023: 07:00–22:00 on weekdays, 10:00–22:00 on weekends; other city centres — 07:00–19:00tvbv.com.br · secondary source

T1 — primary: law, agency site, price list. T2 — secondary: press, specialist sites. T3 — other.