UCSP
Published 8 November 2026, 22:47
UCSP — Unidade de Cuidados de Saúde Personalizados (personalised care unit at a health centre)
It has the same place in the system as a USF, but without a performance contract: doctors and nurses work under the ordinary staffing rules. For the patient the difference is small — appointments, prescriptions, referrals and vaccinations are the same — but people who have not yet been assigned a family doctor more often end up at a UCSP.
Where you come across it. Registering with a health centre, getting a utente number, seeing the duty doctor.
In letters and on doors, a unit is identified by its abbreviation plus the name of the area — “UCSP Alameda”, “USF Bom Porto”. This is exactly the name under which the system has you registered.
Official website: sns.gov.pt/institucional/unidades-de-saude