What should you know about healthcare and emergencies in Grimentz?
Emergency number
112
Police: 117. Ambulance: 144.
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: ch.usembassy.gov, allianzcare.com
Good to know
Good to Know
- Save 112, 117, 118, 144, 145 and 1414 (Rega) in your phone before you need them — in a village like Grimentz, mountain rescue (Rega, 1414) is one of the most relevant numbers given the surrounding ski slopes and alpine trails.
- Helicopter mountain rescue is not automatically free — consider a Rega patron membership or travel insurance with rescue/repatriation cover before doing any hiking, climbing or off-piste skiing near Grimentz.
- Swiss police are organized by canton rather than nationally; a 117 or 112 call from Grimentz is automatically routed to the Valais cantonal police dispatch.
- 112 works even with a foreign SIM card, a locked phone, or a prepaid phone with no remaining credit.
- Grimentz itself has no hospital — it's a small alpine village in the Val d'Anniviers. For any real emergency, call 144 (ambulance) rather than trying to self-drive to a hospital; dispatch will send you to the appropriate facility, which for serious trauma will be Sion, not the closer Sierre site.
- Sierre's hospital no longer runs a full 24/7 emergency room — it operates a weekday-only walk-in medical/surgical permanence for non-life-threatening adult cases. Many general directories still list it as 'urgences,' which is outdated/misleading.
- For mountain accidents (hiking, skiing, climbing) call Rega (Swiss Air Rescue) at 1414 for helicopter evacuation — a genuinely relevant number given Grimentz's terrain and ski area.
- Swiss emergency care is high-quality but not free — travel/health insurance is strongly advised, as uninsured visitors can face large out-of-pocket bills or be asked for an advance deposit.
Emergency Numbers
- Country
- Switzerland
- Region Context
- Grimentz is a mountain village in the canton of Valais (Val d'Anniviers, Sierre district). All national Swiss emergency numbers apply; local response is coordinated by Valais cantonal police/fire/ambulance dispatch.
Fire
- Number
- 118
- Notes
- General number for local fire services (Feuerwehr/pompiers). Most Swiss fire brigades are militia-based volunteer services.
Police
- Number
- 117
- Notes
- Can be dialled from any phone. Switzerland's police are organized cantonally (not a single federal force), so a 117 or 112 call is automatically routed to the relevant cantonal dispatch (Valais police, for Grimentz).
Ambulance
- Number
- 144
- Notes
- Connects to a medical dispatch centre for urgent medical help.
Poison Control
- Number
- 145
- Notes
- National toxicological information centre (Tox Info Suisse).
Glacier Emergency
- Number
- 1415
- Provider
- Air Glaciers
- Notes
- Separate glacier-rescue emergency line, relevant for high-alpine excursions near Grimentz (e.g. Moiry glacier area).
Mountain Air Rescue
- Number
- 1414
- Provider
- Rega (Swiss Air-Rescue)
- Notes
- Highly relevant for Grimentz given its Alpine/ski terrain. Rega is a private non-profit service; helicopter rescue can be very costly without a Rega patron membership or adequate travel/rescue insurance.
Child Youth Helpline
- Number
- 147
- Notes
- Pro Juventute helpline for children and young people.
Mental Health Helpline
- Number
- 143
- Notes
- "Die Dargebotene Hand" / La Main Tendue — emergency mental-health/crisis counseling line.
Road Breakdown Assistance
- Number
- 140
- Notes
- TCS/ACS roadside breakdown assistance; for actual accidents still also call 117/112.
Universal Emergency Number
- Number
- 112
- Notes
- Connects to the police emergency control centre, which can redirect to the appropriate service. Works from any phone, including foreign SIM cards or a prepaid phone with no credit, and is free to call.
Recommended Official Safety Apps
Alertswiss
- Purpose
- Switzerland's official national alerting app — pushes real-time alerts, warnings and information (weather, flooding, contaminated water, wildfire, etc.) for your current location or chosen cantons, and lets you build a personal emergency plan.
- Publisher
- Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP/BABS)
- Availability
- iOS and Android, available in German, French, Italian and English.
Echo112
- Purpose
- Uses GPS to detect your country and display the correct local emergency numbers, and can help dispatchers pinpoint your exact location when you call.
- Publisher
- Third-party app widely recommended alongside official numbers
- Availability
- Works in Switzerland and many other European countries.
Hospitals
+41 27 603 70 00
- Name
- Hôpital de Sierre (Hôpital du Valais / CHVR site) — Permanence médico-chirurgicale
- Hours
- Monday–Friday 9:00–18:00 only. Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays (extended to 9:00–20:00 daily between 22 Dec 2025 and 4 Jan 2026 for the winter holiday period).
- Address
- Rue St-Charles 14, 3960 Sierre, Switzerland
- Trauma Level
- Not a 24/7 emergency department and not a designated trauma center. The site's emergency service was converted to a walk-in 'permanence médico-chirurgicale' for adults (16+) with non-life-threatening issues after the canton found it could not staff the required specialist roster.
- Distance From Grimentz
- Approx. 20–25 minutes by car
- Notes
- Does not treat pediatric emergencies — children must go to Sion or another nearby center. Has on-site radiology (X-ray, CT, MRI) and a lab, but is explicitly not equipped for life-threatening cases.
Hôpital De Sion (Centre Hospitalier Du Valais Romand / CHVR)
- Phone
- +41 27 603 40 00
- Hours
- Emergency department open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Address
- Avenue du Grand-Champsec 80, 1950 Sion, Switzerland
- Trauma Level
- Officially designated Swiss Trauma Center. Its status was reconfirmed by Switzerland's Highly Specialized Medicine (MHS) scientific body in late October 2025 and is valid until end of June 2030, making it one of only 12 hospitals nationwide certified to treat severe/life-threatening multi-trauma and traumatic brain injury cases; in French-speaking Switzerland only Sion, CHUV (Lausanne), and HUG (Geneva) hold this certification.
- Distance From Grimentz
- Approx. 40–50 minutes by car via Sierre (this is the realistic destination for any genuine trauma emergency from Grimentz, not Sierre)
- Notes
- This is the hospital an ambulance or REGA helicopter dispatch will normally route serious Grimentz-area cases to.
Hôpital De Martigny (Centre Hospitalier Du Valais Romand / CHVR)
- Phone
- +41 27 603 90 00
- Hours
- Emergency service open daily 7:00–19:00
- Address
- Avenue de la Fusion 27, 1920 Martigny, Switzerland
- Trauma Level
- General acute-care emergency department; not designated as the region's trauma center (that role sits with Sion).
- Distance From Grimentz
- Farther than Sion for most Val d'Anniviers travel routes — included for completeness only, not a primary recommendation
- Notes
- Not open overnight; outside its hours, patients are directed to Sion or Viège.
Healthcare
- System
- Private mandatory health insurance required; no free public healthcare system exists.
- Quality
- High quality; Switzerland is renowned for world-class medical facilities and care.
- Emergency
- Ambulance: 144; After-hours physician: 0900 57 67 47
- Doctor Access
- GPs readily available; you can contact any doctor in Switzerland and are usually free to choose your family doctor unless you have a very low-cost insurance policy.
- English Speakers
- Medical professionals often speak English; higher availability in major cities/hospitals.
- Insurance Requirement
- All residents must enroll in basic mandatory health insurance within 90 days of arrival. Insurance is compulsory and non-negotiable, though costs vary by age, deductible choice, and insurer.
- Hospital Stay Daily Fee
- CHF 15
- Specialist Availability
- Specialists typically available Monday through Friday.
Nearest Hospital
- Name
- Hôpital du Valais, Hôpital de Sierre
- Address
- Rue Saint-Charles 14, 3960 Sierre
- Location
- Sierre (approximately 20-25 km / 30-40 minutes drive from Grimentz)
- Services
- Acute care facility with basic medical disciplines and specialized services including urology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, dermatology, geriatrics, and medical expertise center.
Deductible And Copay
- Copay Percentage
- 10% of costs exceeding the deductible
- Copay Annual Cap
- CHF 700
- Annual Deductible
- CHF 300
Pharmacies
- Availability
- Pharmacies are widespread across Switzerland and are identified by a green pharmacy symbol.
- Medicine Cost
- Expensive relative to other European countries; generic versions recommended to reduce costs
- Payment Methods
- Credit card accepted at most pharmacies
- Emergency Service
- 24/7 emergency pharmacy service available; on-call pharmacist always available
- On Call Service Info
- For Grimentz area, contact via pharmacy emergency number to locate nearest on-call pharmacy
- Prescription Medicines
- Require prescription from Swiss doctor; costs shared between patient and insurance
- Standard Hours Weekday
- 8:00–18:30 (Monday–Friday)
- Standard Hours Saturday
- 8:00–16:00 or 17:00
- Over The Counter Medicines
- Basic medicines including paracetamol, cetirizine, ibuprofen available without prescription
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this emergencies research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Grimentz
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.