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Children's health in Hong Kong

Hong Kong looks after children very well, in two very different ways: a heavily subsidised public system once you hold your Hong Kong identity card, and fast, comfortable and expensive private care, where most expat families go with insurance. No carte Vitale and no reimbursement: you pay per visit, public or private. Here is how it works, with verified addresses and the consulate's official list of French-speaking practitioners.

Verified on 30 October 2026

How the system works

Two worlds coexist: the Hospital Authority's public hospitals, with very low flat fees for residents, and private clinics and hospitals, with no waiting but no price ceiling. Insurance is not compulsory, it is essential.

Good to know

  • In the public system, the resident rate (Eligible Person) is reserved for Hong Kong identity card (HKID) holders and resident children under 11; without an HKID you pay the non-resident rate, several times higher for the same care. Source
  • Since 1 January 2026, public fees have been reformed: a general or specialist consultation, an A&E visit or a day in hospital is a flat fee for residents, and a resident's public fees are capped at HK$10,000 a year without means testing. Source
  • There is no automatic universal cover for expatriates: most families rely on the employer's insurance or an international plan. Check the annual limit, inpatient cover, outpatient consultations, maternity and the excess before signing. Source
  • Private care is fast, English-speaking and high quality, but a private GP visit costs ten times the public flat fee, and a specialist far more. The big private hospitals (Gleneagles, Hong Kong Sanatorium, Adventist, Matilda) run 24-hour outpatient departments. Source
  • A local quirk: the doctor very often hands out the medicines at the end of the consultation, public or private. The pharmacy is mainly for long-term treatments and self-medication. Source

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Paediatrician, Maternal and Child Health Centre and health record

No compulsory registration with a doctor: you freely choose a private paediatrician or GP, and the public network of Maternal and Child Health Centres follows resident children free of charge from birth to age 5.

Good to know

  • The Department of Health's Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHC) run an integrated programme from birth to age 5: Hong Kong schedule vaccinations, growth monitoring, hearing and vision screening, developmental checks and parenting workshops. Source
  • All MCHC child services are free for residents (Eligible Persons); non-residents pay per visit. Book at your neighbourhood centre: Sai Ying Pun, Tang Chi Ngong (Wan Chai), Anne Black (North Point), Chai Wan, Ap Lei Chau or Tseung Kwan O. Source
  • Privately, paediatricians see children without a referral: you book directly, often the same day. Clinics in Central, Mid-Levels and Wan Chai are the closest to French families; ask whether a doctor speaks French. Source
  • There is no single health record: bring the French carnet to every new doctor and to the MCHC so that vaccines already given are recorded and the schedule adjusted; keep copies of reports, each clinic holds its own file. Source

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Emergencies and hospitals

One number, 999, and eighteen public A&E departments open 24 hours a day that take adults and children, triaged by severity. For a fever or a minor injury at night, the private hospitals' 24-hour outpatient departments avoid the wait, for a fee.

Good to know

  • 999 is the single number for ambulance, fire and police; deaf or hard-of-hearing callers can text 992. Operators speak English. Source
  • In public A&E, patients are triaged into five categories: critical and emergency cases (categories I and II) are seen immediately and exempt from fees; the rest wait, sometimes for a long time, and pay the resident or non-resident flat fee. Source
  • The Hong Kong Children's Hospital in Kai Tak is a referral centre for complex paediatric cases: it has no A&E and no general outpatient clinic, you are referred there by a doctor. Source
  • The consulate keeps a list of the main hospitals and points to the Hospital Authority's official A&E list; if a child is admitted, the hospital's Patient Relations Office is the families' contact. Source

Addresses

  • Queen Mary Hospital

    Emergency

    102 Pokfulam Road, Pok Fu Lam

    24-hour public A&E for the west and south of the island, HKU teaching hospital with a paediatrics department; the nearest for Pok Fu Lam, Kennedy Town and Mid-Levels.

    Website Source

  • Ruttonjee Hospital

    Emergency

    266 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai

    24-hour public A&E in Wan Chai, the nearest for Happy Valley, Causeway Bay and Mid-Levels.

    Website Source

  • Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital

    Emergency

    3 Lok Man Road, Chai Wan

    The big public hospital of the island's east, 24-hour A&E, close to the Lycée Victor-Segalen's Chai Wan campus.

    Website Source

  • Tseung Kwan O Hospital

    Emergency

    2 Po Ning Lane, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O

    24-hour public A&E for families in Tseung Kwan O, Clear Water Bay and Sai Kung.

    Website Source

  • Queen Elizabeth Hospital

    Emergency

    30 Gascoigne Road, Jordan, Kowloon

    Kowloon's big public hospital, 24-hour A&E, for families in Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan and Kowloon Tong.

    Website Source

  • North Lantau Hospital

    Emergency

    8 Chung Yan Road, Tung Chung, Lantau

    Lantau's 24-hour public A&E, for Discovery Bay and Tung Chung.

    Website Source

  • Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong

    Hospital

    1 Nam Fung Path, Wong Chuk Hang

    Private hospital on the island's south side with a 24-hour outpatient and emergency department and a paediatric clinic; fees apply, often through insurance.

    Website Source

  • Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital

    Hospital

    Village Road, Happy Valley

    Large private hospital in Happy Valley with a 24-hour outpatient service that sees fevers and children; fees apply.

    Website Source

  • Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, Stubbs Road

    Hospital

    40 Stubbs Road, Happy Valley

    Private hospital above Happy Valley with a 24/7 urgent care clinic (wounds, fever, infections) and paediatric vaccination services; fees apply.

    Website Source

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French-speaking doctors, dentists and therapists

The French consulate general in Hong Kong and Macau publishes a list of doctors and therapists practising in Hong Kong, updated in October 2026. It is indicative, revised every year, does not engage the consulate's responsibility and the choice of practitioner remains free. It currently includes no paediatrician and no psychologist: for those specialities, we point below to where to look.

Good to know

  • The official list covers a French-speaking GP, a cardiologist, dentists and orthodontists, a midwife and a physiotherapist, almost all in Central and Sheung Wan; all work privately and consultations are paid. Source
  • For a French-speaking paediatrician or doctor, the consulate points to the Hong Kong doctors directory, where you can filter by language ('french') in the detailed search, and to the dentists directory. Source
  • Hong Kong Accueil keeps an online directory of health professionals recommended by its members, by speciality (paediatricians, GPs, gynaecology and maternity, psychologists, speech therapists), with each practice's neighbourhood. Source

Addresses

  • Dr Sarah Borwein Olsen

    General practitioner

    Central

    General practitioner, consults at Amber Health (New World Tower, Queen's Road Central) and Thrive Collective HK.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

  • Dr Adrian Cheong

    Central

    Cardiologist, Entertainment Building, Queen's Road Central; speaks French, English and Chinese.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN, ZH

    Source

  • Dr Amy Leung

    Dentist

    Central

    Dentist, Thyrse House, Pottinger Street.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Raymond Lee et Dr Louise Wong

    Dentist

    Central

    Dentist and orthodontist, Pacific Dental Care, Central Building, Pedder Street.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr James Woo

    Dentist

    Central

    Dentist, Lane Crawford House, Queen's Road Central.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Source

  • Dr Virginie Levy

    Dentist

    Central

    French dentist, THP Dental, World-Wide House, Des Voeux Road Central.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

  • Dr Marlène Grillon

    Dentist

    Central

    Franco-Swiss dentist and orthodontist, Braces & Faces, One Chinachem, Des Voeux Road Central.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

  • Pascale Maître

    Sheung Wan

    French state-registered midwife, AOS Clinic, Bonham Trade Centre: birth preparation, pregnancy and postnatal support in French.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

  • Jennifer Roumi

    Sheung Wan

    French state-registered physiotherapist, AOS Clinic, Bonham Trade Centre: postnatal rehabilitation and general physiotherapy.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

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Pregnancy and maternity units

Two routes: a public maternity unit, very affordable with an HKID card but standardised, or one of the private maternity hospitals, comfortable and expensive, where you book early. A French midwife on the consulate's list supports mothers-to-be in French.

Good to know

  • Public or private, register early: public care is reliable and accessible but standardised, private hospitals offer rooms, your choice of obstetrician and all-inclusive delivery packages, to book from early pregnancy as demand is high. Source
  • In the public system, a mother-to-be without an HKID card is a non-resident and must pay a minimum obstetric package before delivery; with an HKID, the birth is charged at the resident daily rate. Source
  • Statutory maternity leave is 14 weeks, paid at four-fifths of average wages by the employer after 40 weeks of continuous contract; it starts 2 to 4 weeks before the due date. Statutory paternity leave is 5 days. Source
  • After the birth, your neighbourhood Maternal and Child Health Centre takes over free of charge for vaccines, growth and baby checks, and the Family Health Service emails advice throughout pregnancy (Pregnancy e-link). Source

Addresses

  • Matilda International Hospital

    Maternity

    41 Mount Kellett Road, The Peak

    The Peak's historic private maternity hospital: fixed-price delivery packages, one midwife per mother in labour, antenatal classes from 24 weeks, a special care baby unit and home visits after discharge.

    Website Source

  • Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, maternité

    Maternity

    1 Nam Fung Path, Wong Chuk Hang

    Modern private maternity unit on the island's south side with all-inclusive obstetric packages, an obstetrics and gynaecology clinic and paediatricians on site.

    Website Source

  • Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, obstétrique

    Maternity

    Village Road, Happy Valley

    The obstetrics and gynaecology department of Happy Valley's big private hospital, next to the Lycée français; private, book early.

    Website Source

  • Pascale Maître, sage-femme, AOS Clinic

    Bonham Trade Centre, Sheung Wan

    French midwife on the consulate's list, more than twenty years' experience: birth preparation, support during delivery and postnatal care in French, alongside the maternity unit you choose.

    Languages spoken : FR, EN

    Website Source

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Pharmacies and medicines

The Watsons and Mannings chains are on every corner, but a real pharmacy with a pharmacist is marked by an Rx logo, and the doctor often hands you the medicines directly. Doliprane does not exist: look for paracetamol.

Good to know

  • At the end of a consultation, public or private, the doctor usually dispenses the medicines on the spot, charged per item in the public system; you rarely leave with a prescription to fill elsewhere. Source
  • For a long-term treatment started in France, bring your prescriptions and boxes: a local doctor will re-prescribe it in its Hong Kong form, and you will know which equivalent to ask for at the pharmacy.
  • Common equivalents: paracetamol (Panadol, children's syrup) for Doliprane, ibuprofen (Nurofen for Children) for Advil, saline for sérum physiologique, oral rehydration salts for rehydration sachets; many products are on the shelves at Watsons and Mannings.
  • At night and on public holidays there is no duty pharmacy rota as in France: the private hospitals' 24-hour outpatient departments and public A&E dispense what is needed. Source
  • The Department of Health's Drug Office publishes guides on the proper use of common medicines and a database of medicines registered in Hong Kong, handy to check that a product bought online or in a shop is authorised. Source

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Vaccines: how the schedule differs from France

The Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme is free for residents at Maternal and Child Health Centres, then at school. It resembles ours, with three surprises: BCG and hepatitis B at birth, chickenpox vaccination, and several French vaccines missing from the public programme.

Good to know

  • At birth, in hospital: BCG and the first hepatitis B dose; then hepatitis B at 1 and 6 months, DTaP-IPV (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio) at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months, pneumococcal at 2, 4 and 12 months. Source
  • At 12 months, MMR and chickenpox; at 18 months, a second combined MMR-chickenpox dose (MMRV). Chickenpox is not in the French schedule: a child arriving from France will not have had it. Source
  • The public programme includes neither Haemophilus influenzae b, nor meningococcal, nor rotavirus, nor hepatitis A, nor flu: private clinics offer them. In France, Hib and meningococcal B are among the compulsory infant vaccinations. Source
  • At primary school, school immunisation teams visit classes: DTaP-IPV booster in Primary 1, 9-valent HPV vaccine for girls in Primary 5 and 6, and a dTap-IPV booster in Primary 6. Boys are not given HPV in the public programme, unlike in France. Source
  • No vaccine is required for school entry, but schools ask for the record: bring the French carnet to the MCHC or the paediatrician for a tailored catch-up, without repeating what has been done. Source
  • Every autumn, the flu vaccine is offered to children, at private clinics or through the government's subsidised vaccination programmes; lepetitjournal.com Hong Kong publishes a how-to every year. Source

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These landmarks do not replace the advice of a health professional. In an emergency, call the local emergency number shown above.

A place has closed, something has changed? Tell us: the mums of Hong Kong will thank you.

Sources for this page

The public pages these landmarks come from. The official website always prevails.

  1. 1 Consulat général de France à Hong Kong et Macao, liste de notoriété des médecins
  2. 2 Hospital Authority, tarifs des hôpitaux publics
  3. 3 Hospital Authority, liste des services d'urgences
  4. 4 Family Health Service, calendrier vaccinal et centres mère-enfant
  5. 5 Labour Department, congé maternité
  6. 6 lepetitjournal.com Hong Kong, santé à Hong Kong : guide complet
  7. 7 Hong Kong Accueil, professionnels de santé

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