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Children's health in Rome

The Servizio Sanitario Nazionale resembles the French system in many ways: a free contracted paediatrician for children, public hospitals open to all, a card that works like the carte Vitale. It differs in the ASL registration, the co-payment on specialists and the role of private care. Here is how it works, with verified addresses and the official list of French-speaking practitioners.

Verified on 30 October 2026

How the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale works

A regionalised public system, funded by tax, where you register with your local ASL and choose your doctor. Private care sits alongside, mainly to see a specialist without waiting.

Good to know

  • EU citizens working in Italy, and their dependants, are entitled to compulsory SSN enrolment for the length of their contract (indefinitely if permanent or self-employed); other residents can enrol voluntarily against an income-based annual contribution, present an S1 form issued by France or take out private insurance. Source
  • Anyone who turns up at a public hospital's emergency department is treated, with a colour code by severity; workers' health insurance rights are the same as Italians'. Source
  • Children up to 14 come under the pediatra di libera scelta, free of charge: they prescribe, refer to specialists and monitor growth, with no mandatory referral pathway. After that the family doctor takes over, from age 6 if the parents ask. Source
  • Specialist consultations and prescribed tests are booked through the CUP (counter, phone or online) with the prescription; a co-payment may apply, with exemptions by income, age, pregnancy or condition. Source
  • Private care is direct access, short waits, teleconsultations and sometimes home visits, paid out of pocket or through insurance: always ask for the fattura parlante (itemised invoice) for reimbursement. Source
  • The French state does not cover your health, hospital or repatriation costs in Italy: check your cover (SSN, CFE or insurance) before you need it. Source

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Registering with the ASL and choosing the paediatrician

First health step, as soon as residency is secured: register the whole family with the ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale) for your address. It triggers the tessera sanitaria, the choice of paediatrician and access to the vaccination centres.

Good to know

  • Go to the counter (sportello) of your local ASL with ID, codice fiscale, proof of residence and work contract; for voluntary enrolment, add the self-certification of your residence attestation, of your income and the contribution receipt (F24 form). Children are registered with you. Source
  • From 0 to 6, the child is followed by a pediatra di libera scelta; from 6 to 14, parents choose between the paediatrician and the family doctor; beyond 14, the family doctor, except for a documented medical situation, up to 16. Source
  • The choice is made at the general medicine counter of your district (parent's ID, proof of SSN registration, child's codice fiscale, the other parent's consent) or online from the electronic health record on Salute Lazio; each paediatrician has a patient cap, check that they still take children. Source
  • No French-style health record: vaccines are recorded by the vaccination centre and visible in the electronic health record. Bring your French carnet with a translation (Italian or English), dates, vaccines and batch numbers, so the doctor can assess equivalences and propose catch-ups. Source
  • The tessera sanitaria carries the codice fiscale and doubles, on the back, as the European Health Insurance Card for your travels; valid six years, it is automatically reissued at expiry. Source
  • You can change paediatrician at any time by revoking the previous one at the ASL counter or from the online record; for a temporary stay elsewhere in Italy, a temporary doctor can be requested for three to twelve months. Source

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Emergencies and children's hospitals

One number to remember, 112, and one reflex: for a child, the Bambino Gesù, the Holy See's children's hospital, is the reference. Several big public hospitals also have separate children's emergency departments.

Good to know

  • 112 is the single European emergency number, free and without a prefix: the operator connects you to 118 (medical emergency), the fire brigade (115) or the police (113). 114 is the child emergency line. Source
  • For a problem that cannot wait for the paediatrician but is not life-threatening, 116117 is Lazio's non-urgent care number (continuity of care, on-call doctor when surgeries are closed); walk-in clinics open Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm complete the system. Source
  • At the pronto soccorso, a nurse assigns a colour code on arrival: red seen immediately, orange within about an hour, green one to three hours, blue or white over three hours or redirection. Bring ID, tessera sanitaria, current medicines and a list of allergies, and call rather than take a taxi. Source
  • The Bambino Gesù, founded in Rome in 1869 and an institution of the Holy See, is the largest paediatric hospital and research centre in Europe: six care sites, 627 beds and some 95,000 emergency visits a year. Source
  • Outside office hours, the consulate's duty officer (+39 06 6860 1500) only answers genuine emergencies: serious accident, assault, death, missing person, arrest. A lost passport is not one. Source

Addresses

  • Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, site du Gianicolo

    Emergency

    Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Roma (Gianicolo)

    24/7 children's emergencies and national reference centre, on the Gianicolo hill above Trastevere; bus 870 (Bambino Gesù stop) from the centre, 115 from Trastevere; no parking on site.

    Website Source

  • Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, site de Palidoro

    Hospital

    Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino (Roma)

    The big coastal site, useful for families in Fiumicino, Fregene or along the Via Aurelia; train to Ladispoli-Cerveteri then shuttle, Cotral bus from Cornelia (metro A), or exit 1 Aurelia off the ring road.

    Website Source

  • Policlinico Gemelli, urgences pédiatriques

    Emergency

    Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Roma (Trionfale)

    Emergency unit exclusively for ages 0 to 18, open 24/7, with dedicated access for ambulances and cars; the big university hospital of the north-west, handy for Prati, Balduina and the Cassia.

    Website Source

  • Ospedale San Camillo-Forlanini, urgences pédiatriques

    Emergency

    Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, 00152 Roma (Monteverde)

    Paediatric emergency unit within the Women's and Children's Health department, with paediatrics and obstetrics; the big public hospital of the south-west, next to the Villa Pamphilj.

    Website Source

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French-speaking doctors, dentists and therapists

The French consulate general in Rome publishes a list of French-speaking medical practitioners, updated in May 2026: some thirty practitioners in Rome, provided for information only, without engaging the administration's responsibility, which notes that the list is not exhaustive. We reproduce the practitioners most useful to families; most work privately.

Good to know

  • The official list covers a paediatrician, GPs, dentists including a children's specialist, gynaecologists, a midwife, a speech therapist, an ENT, psychologists and psychotherapists, osteopaths and a physiotherapist; the information comes from the practitioners themselves. Source
  • These practitioners mostly work privately: paid consultations, sometimes reimbursed by insurance. For free care, the pediatra di libera scelta remains the SSN route, and many families combine both. Source
  • The Rome Pratique directory lists French-speaking professionals by category (paediatrics, general practice, dentists, psychology, speech therapy, physiotherapy...) who register free through the publisher; the lepetitjournal.com Rome directory complements it. Source

Addresses

  • Dr Catherine Stainier Benoit

    Paediatrician

    Aventino (Via Sant'Alberto Magno) et Infernetto (Via dei Pescatori)

    Paediatrician, the only one on the consulate's list; consults on the Aventine and in Infernetto, towards Casal Palocco.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Grégory Strabach

    General practitioner

    Aventino (Viale Aventino)

    General practitioner, consulting doctor to the consulate.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Franck Guillon Xenard

    General practitioner

    Nomentano (Via Felice Nerini)

    General practitioner, sports traumatology and homeopathy, near Piazza Bologna.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Palmyre Ferocino

    General practitioner

    San Saba / Ostiense (Viale Marco Polo)

    General practitioner, specialist in allergology and clinical immunology, dietetics.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Pascale Stringer

    General practitioner

    Appio-Latino (Piazza Ragusa)

    General practitioner, sports medicine, consulting doctor to the consulate.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Annelyse Garret Bernardin

    Dentist

    Ostiense / San Paolo (Via Baldelli)

    Exclusively paediatric dentist: the children's dentist on the list.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Tonino Bianchi, Dr Leila Bianchi et Dr Julien Orfei

    Dentist

    Parioli (Via Panama)

    French-speaking dental practice: stomatology, orthodontics and endodontics.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Hélène Garcia

    Psychologist

    Prati (Via Riccardo Grazioli Lante)

    Clinical psychologist, children, adolescents and adults.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Marianne Boivin Alajmo

    Psychologist

    Trieste / Salario (Via Tagliamento)

    Psychologist, psychotherapist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Christine Dal Bon

    Psychologist

    Parioli (Viale Bruno Buozzi)

    Psychologist, psychotherapist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Antoine Mérienne

    Psychologist

    Prati (Viale delle Milizie)

    Psychologist, psychotherapist, Studio SAGI.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Erika Gsell

    Psychologist

    Trastevere (Via delle Fratte di Trastevere)

    Psychologist, psychotherapist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Daria Rostirolla

    Psychologist

    Prati (Via Tacito)

    Psychologist, psychotherapist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Julie Nothelier

    Prati (Via Tacito)

    Speech and language therapist: assessments and therapy in French, invaluable for bilingual children.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Francesca Yoshie Russo

    Castro Pretorio (Via Castelfidardo)

    ENT specialist, consultations for adults and children.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Claudio De Cadilhac

    Portuense (Via Ettore Rolli)

    Ophthalmologist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

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Pregnancy and maternity units

In Italy, pregnancy is followed by a gynaecologist, often privately, or in an ASL consultorio familiare; prescribed tests are exempt from the co-payment, and you register yourself with the maternity unit of your choice, each with its own rules. Rome has large public and contracted maternity units.

Good to know

  • The ASL consultori familiari are free spaces dedicated to the health of women, couples and families: pregnancy follow-up, contraception, birth preparation and postnatal support. Source
  • Co-payment exemptions cover pregnancy: follow-up tests and scans prescribed by the gynaecologist are free in the public system. Source
  • Compulsory maternity leave lasts five months, paid at 80% of salary by the INPS for employees, on presentation of the electronic pregnancy certificate; parental leave can reach ten to eleven months per child, to be taken before age 12 and partly paid. Source
  • At the Gemelli, the first interview with the birth welcome centre is requested by email before 32 weeks, with a referral from your doctor and your scans, for an appointment between 31 and 34 weeks; each maternity unit has its own rules, enquire from the second trimester. Source
  • A French-speaking midwife and two obstetrician-gynaecologists are on the consulate's list (historic centre and Parioli), useful for asking questions in your own language alongside Italian care. Source

Addresses

  • Ospedale Isola Tiberina, Gemelli Isola (ex-Fatebenefratelli)

    Maternity

    Via di Ponte Quattro Capi 39, 00186 Roma (Isola Tiberina)

    The historic centre's maternity unit, on the Tiber Island: most mothers from central Rome give birth here; new maternity ward opened in October 2026, neonatology and neonatal intensive care on site.

    Website Source

  • Ospedale San Pietro Fatebenefratelli

    Maternity

    Via Cassia 600, 00189 Roma

    About 4,500 births a year, a neonatologist on duty who visits the babies daily, antenatal classes; the maternity unit of northern Rome, handy for the Cassia and Saint-Dominique.

    Website Source

  • Policlinico Gemelli, centre d'accueil pour l'accouchement

    Maternity

    Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Roma (Trionfale)

    Large university maternity unit of the north-west: first interview between 31 and 34 weeks on request by email, antenatal classes, support for vaginal birth after caesarean and breech presentations.

    Website Source

  • Policlinico Casilino

    Maternity

    Via Casilina 1059, 00169 Roma

    South-east maternity unit with dedicated obstetric emergencies, open 24/7, and antenatal classes; note there is no paediatrician in the general emergency department, neonatologists are called in for advice.

    Website Source

  • Louise Pouchol, sage-femme

    Centre historique (Via della Stelletta)

    French-speaking midwife on the consulate's list: preparation, follow-up and questions in French alongside Italian care.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Serena Resta

    Parioli (Viale Parioli)

    Obstetrician-gynaecologist: low-risk pregnancy, obstetric and maternal pathology, prenatal diagnosis.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

  • Dr Raffaela Raffio

    Parioli (Viale Liegi)

    Obstetrician-gynaecologist.

    Languages spoken : FR, IT

    Source

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Pharmacies and medicines

The green cross is everywhere and the pharmacist is happy to advise; standard hours break for lunch, but duty pharmacies and a few shops open day and night take over. Doliprane does not exist: ask for paracetamolo, the Tachipirina of Italian children.

Good to know

  • The Rome pharmacists' association publishes the list of today's duty pharmacies, the list of shops open 24 hours all year and those open 8am to 8pm, plus a search by address or postcode. Source
  • Usual hours are about 8:30am to 1pm and 4pm to 7:30pm; the pharmacies on Via Nazionale, Piazza della Repubblica and at Termini station work day and night, and a red cross marks those open at night. Call before you go. Source
  • Equivalents: paracetamolo (Tachipirina, as syrup, suppositories or drops for children) for Doliprane, ibuprofene (Nurofen, Moment) for Advil, soluzione fisiologica for saline; ask for the molecule rather than the French brand, and expect different packaging. Source
  • A French prescription is valid across the EU if it shows your name and date of birth, the date, the prescriber's identity and signature, the medicine's common name, form, quantity and dosage; the pharmacist applies Italian rules, and some medicines do not exist under the same name or are not sold. Ask for a paper copy of an electronic prescription. Source

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Vaccines: how the schedule differs from France

The Italian schedule resembles the French one, with three differences that matter to a mum: ten vaccines are compulsory to enter nursery and school, chickenpox is one of them, and vaccines are given at the ASL vaccination centre rather than by the paediatrician.

Good to know

  • Ten vaccinations are compulsory from 0 to 16 (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, Hib, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox): without them, no enrolment in nursery or preschool; at compulsory school, enrolment is accepted but a fine of 100 to 500 euros applies. Children already immunised by the disease or with a contraindication are exempt. Source
  • Four other vaccines are recommended, offered free and without penalty: meningococcus B, meningococcus C, pneumococcus and rotavirus. Source
  • The schedule: hexavalent and pneumococcal at 2, 4 and 10 months, meningococcus B at 3, 5 and 15 months, rotavirus from 6 weeks, measles-mumps-rubella-varicella and meningococcus ACWY at 12 months, then at 5 the second MMRV dose with the DTP-polio booster; HPV for girls and boys from age 11. Source
  • In France, eleven vaccinations are compulsory for young children and chickenpox is not routinely vaccinated: a child arriving from France will probably need a chickenpox catch-up dose, and the certificate to give the school. Source
  • Children are vaccinated free at the ASL vaccination centres, with the tessera sanitaria; at ASL Roma 1, children whose compulsory vaccines are not up to date for nursery or preschool are seen without an appointment, and the flu vaccine is recommended and offered every autumn from 6 months to 7 years. Source
  • Bring the translated French record (dates, vaccines, batch numbers): the doctor assesses equivalences, proposes missing doses and issues the certificate the school will ask for; ask the school which documents it expects. 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 Rome 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 Rome, médecins francophones
  2. 2 Consulat général de France à Rome, liste médicale (mai 2026)
  3. 3 ASL Roma 1, assistance sanitaire des citoyens de l'Union
  4. 4 Salute Lazio, médecin de famille et pédiatre
  5. 5 Rome Accueil, se soigner à Rome entre SSN et privé
  6. 6 Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, qui sommes-nous
  7. 7 Istituto Superiore di Sanità, l'obligation vaccinale
  8. 8 europa.eu, ordonnances dans un autre pays de l'UE

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