Finding a doctor, emergencies, interpreting, and psychosocial help
The German version of this page has been changed, this translation has not. Please rely on the German page.
Emergency, danger to life: Call 112.
Sick, but not an emergency, and the practice is closed: Call 116117. That is the on-call medical service (ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst). It is reachable around the clock.
You need a doctor's appointment: With your insurance card you can freely choose a practice. In Germany, the GP practice (Hausarztpraxis) is usually responsible first. It refers you to specialists if needed. If you cannot find an appointment, the Terminservice (appointment service) at 116117 helps.
Language: Health insurers usually do not pay for interpreters. Ask at the practice whether someone speaks your language. The 116117 website is available in several languages.
Mental health crisis: The Berliner Krisendienst (Berlin Crisis Service) is free, reachable around the clock, and anonymous on request.
Do you have no insurance? See the page "Ohne Krankenversicherung oder Papiere" (Without health insurance or papers).
Not sure whether this route fits you or what comes first? We assess your situation for free and name the right contact points.
Reply by email, usually within two working days. Free, no legal advice in individual cases.
- Danger to life? Call 112The emergency medical service (Rettungsdienst) is responsible for emergencies and life-threatening situations. The KV Berlin (Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Berlin) expressly separates this from the on-call medical service (116117).
- Not life-threatening, but cannot wait: 116117For complaints you would normally go to your GP practice for, but which cannot wait until the next day, the on-call medical service is responsible (KV Berlin). On 116117.de, the Patienten-Navi (patient navigator) helps with the assessment.
- Find a GP practiceYou can freely choose among approved doctors (§ 76 SGB V). You should choose a GP and only change within a calendar quarter for an important reason. You can find practices via the KV Berlin's doctor search.
- Can't get a specialist appointment: TerminserviceThe Terminservicestelle (appointment service office) at 116117 arranges appointments for people with statutory health insurance. Under § 75 Abs. 1a SGB V, an appointment should be arranged within one week; for specialists, the waiting time may be at most four weeks. For acute psychotherapy treatment, it is at most two weeks.
- Clarify interpretingAsk in advance whether the practice offers language mediation or whether you may bring a trusted person along. Professional language mediation in healthcare is not paid for by health insurers; in some cases, the responsible authority covers the costs if the practice applies for it.
- In a mental health crisis: call the KrisendienstThe Berliner Krisendienst helps with psychosocial crises and psychiatric emergencies, free of charge and anonymous on request. The number depends on your district of residence: 030 390 63 plus extension (e.g. 10 for Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg).
- If in doubt, in cases of acute danger to life, severe pain in the chest or head, unconsciousness, or suicidal thoughts with concrete danger: 112.
- Anyone without health insurance cannot use the Terminservice (it is for people with statutory health insurance). Help: Clearingstelle, Medibüro, Malteser (see separate page).
- Interpreting: whether a practice offers language mediation or applies for cost coverage is not regulated uniformly. According to the available sources, there is no general entitlement to free language mediation at the GP for everyone.
- Responsible Krisendienst region: check the district assignment on the Krisendienst's website; only a selection of numbers is documented here.
- The Terminservice's waiting times are statutory target values. How long appointments actually take to get in practice is not documented here.
In depth · Legal basis, figures and practice – for counsellors and professionals
Emergency and on-call service
According to KV Berlin (Berlin.de, retrieved 26.09.2026): For emergencies and life-threatening situations, call the emergency medical service at 112. The on-call medical service (ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) at 116117 is responsible for complaints you would normally go to your GP practice for, but which cannot wait until the next day (examples according to KV: flu, fever, vomiting). The KV's dispatch center is staffed around the clock. According to Berlin.de, KV on-call practices (Notdienstpraxen) provide outpatient care outside regular practice hours. Under § 75 Abs. 1b SGB V, the Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen (Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians) are responsible for medical care outside consultation hours. According to the operator (KBV), the website 116117.de offers German, Arabic, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish, as well as plain language and sign language. Whether phone advice at 116117 offers foreign languages is not documented here.
Choice of doctor and the GP principle (§ 76 SGB V)
Insured persons can freely choose among doctors approved for statutory care. According to the summarized excerpt of § 76 SGB V, insured persons should choose a GP and only change within a calendar quarter for an important reason. Consulting doctors other than the nearest available contracted doctor without good reason can result in additional costs; in emergencies, other doctors may be consulted. Check the exact statutory wording in the full text if in doubt. Special GP-centered care tariffs (hausarztzentrierte Versorgung) were not examined here. Referral practice, co-payments, and the health insurance card: no confirmed information is available for this.
Terminservicestelle (§ 75 Abs. 1a SGB V)
The Terminservicestellen (appointment service offices) are reachable nationwide under one phone number around the clock. They should arrange a treatment appointment for insured persons within one week; for specialists, the waiting time must not exceed four weeks (radiology treatments: three weeks), and for acute psychotherapy treatment, two weeks. KV Berlin names as its target group people with statutory health insurance resident in Berlin, and names a maximum of four weeks' waiting time between the call and the appointment (KV Berlin and Berlin.de). Exceptions (e.g. dentists, choosing a specific doctor, proof of urgency): no confirmed information is available for this.
Interpreting and language mediation
The Gemeindedolmetschdienst Berlin (GDD, Community Interpreting Service Berlin) has arranged publicly funded language and cultural mediation for the health, education, and social sectors since 2003, including phone and video interpreting in over 40 languages (gesundheitbb.de). Language mediation in connection with medical treatment is not a statutory health insurance benefit and is not reimbursed by health insurers; in certain cases the authority granting benefits can bear the costs, whereby the doctor or clinic must file an application for cost coverage (responsible according to the excerpt: LfU, the districts, Jobcenter). Free options must be used first wherever possible. Whether and when language mediation is covered for migrants not receiving benefits is not documented here.
Psychosocial support
- Berliner Krisendienst (Berlin Crisis Service): according to its own information, reachable by phone around the clock, 365 days a year; the nine regional locations are reachable in person and by phone from 4pm to midnight, outside of which a citywide on-call service in Berlin-Mitte forwards calls (active from midnight to 8am as well as on weekends and public holidays from 8am to 4pm). Formats: by phone, in person, video consultation by prior appointment, email consultation, mobile deployments in urgent cases. Free of charge, anonymous on request; languages through multilingual staff or external language mediation. Numbers follow the pattern 030 390 63 plus extension: 10 Mitte/Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (Große Hamburger Straße 5, 10115 Berlin), 20 Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, 30 Spandau, 40 Pankow, 50 Reinickendorf, 60 Steglitz-Zehlendorf/Tempelhof-Schöneberg, 70 Lichtenberg/Marzahn-Hellersdorf, 80 Treptow-Köpenick, 90 Neukölln.
- Other emergency helplines named by Berlin.de (Landesbeauftragte für psychische Gesundheit, State Commissioner for Mental Health): Muslimisches SeelsorgeTelefon (Muslim pastoral care line) and Telefon Doweria (Russian-language), both according to Berlin.de reachable around the clock; the phone numbers are not reproduced in the available summary; another source names (030) 443 509 821 and (030) 440 308 454 respectively, not confirmed. Also the BIG Hotline (domestic violence, daily 9am to midnight), Kinder- und Jugendtelefon (children and youth helpline), Lara (sexualized violence, weekdays), and neuhland (under 25 in a mental health crisis), Hotline Kinderschutz (child protection hotline) (030) 61 00 66.
- Psychotherapy: initial access via the Terminservice at 116117 (see above).
Gaps
No confirmed information is available for: addresses and consultation hours of KV on-call practices (Notdienstpraxen) in Berlin; the detailed availability of emergency departments (Rettungsstellen) for uninsured people; cost coverage for interpreting services outside the scope of benefits; co-payments; waiting periods for psychotherapy.
- What is “Finding a doctor, emergencies, interpreting, and psychosocial help” about?
- In an emergency call 112, for urgent complaints at night call 116117, for appointments the Terminservice (appointment service) — and in a mental health crisis, the Berliner Krisendienst (Berlin Crisis Service).
- Which deadlines and figures matter?
- Wechsel innerhalb eines Kalendervierteljahres nur bei wichtigem Grund: Changing your GP (§ 76 SGB V)
- Termin innerhalb einer Woche vermitteln; Facharzt höchstens 4 Wochen Wartezeit; Psychotherapie-Akutbehandlung höchstens 2 Wochen: Appointment arrangement by the Terminservicestelle (116117) (§ 75 Abs. 1a SGB V)
- What should I do first?
- Danger to life? Call 112: The emergency medical service (Rettungsdienst) is responsible for emergencies and life-threatening situations. The KV Berlin (Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Berlin) expressly separates this from the on-call medical service (116117).
- Not life-threatening, but cannot wait: 116117: For complaints you would normally go to your GP practice for, but which cannot wait until the next day, the on-call medical service is responsible (KV Berlin). On 116117.de, the Patienten-Navi (patient navigator) helps with the assessment.
- Find a GP practice: You can freely choose among approved doctors (§ 76 SGB V). You should choose a GP and only change within a calendar quarter for an important reason. You can find practices via the KV Berlin's doctor search.
- What should I watch out for?
- If in doubt, in cases of acute danger to life, severe pain in the chest or head, unconsciousness, or suicidal thoughts with concrete danger: 112.
- Anyone without health insurance cannot use the Terminservice (it is for people with statutory health insurance). Help: Clearingstelle, Medibüro, Malteser (see separate page).
- Interpreting: whether a practice offers language mediation or applies for cost coverage is not regulated uniformly. According to the available sources, there is no general entitlement to free language mediation at the GP for everyone.
Got a question about immigration or integration? Ask your question here! – we reply personally by email, usually within two working days. No legal advice in individual cases.