Healthline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 611 116. Call Healthline if you need advice about a child of any age who is unwell, hurt, or has any symptoms of sickness. It's free to callers throughout New Zealand, including from a mobile phone.
Support for when your child is unwell
If your tamariki (children), you or your whānau (family) are unwell, these are the best ways to get support.
Call your local GP practice
If you are enrolled with a local GP practice, call them for advice.
Call Healthline free on 0800 611 116
- if you don't have a local GP practice
- if you or your child are feeling unwell but you're not sure if you need to see a doctor
- for advice about what's happening for you or your child and next steps
- if you want some advice about a family member or a friend who's sick (if you are with them)
- if you want advice on finding services near you
Call 111 in an emergency
In an emergency dial 111 within New Zealand (use the appropriate emergency number in other countries).
A medical emergency includes:
- difficulty breathing
- choking
- severe bleeding or bleeding that won't stop
- chest pain or tightness
- sudden weakness or difficulty talking
- fainting or unconsciousness
Good things to know about Healthline
The Healthline team specialise in assessing and advising over the phone.
They can arrange to talk with you in your language - when your call is answered, say you'd like an interpreter and the language you'd like to speak in.
They can also engage with the NZ Relay Services and support you if you are deaf, hearing impaired, deafblind or speech impaired. Note that NZ Relay Services are only available for limited hours.
Phone calls are free from within New Zealand, including from a mobile phone.
You can call anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
General advice when your child is not sick
You can phone PlunketLine if you have questions about things such as:
- parenting
- crying
- sleeping
- your child's growth and development
- behaviour
- vaccination
- breastfeeding
- nutrition
- oral health
- safety
You can also call PlunketLine if you want to know more about the Well Child Tamariki Ora programme.
PlunketLine is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on 0800 933 922 for advice and support for you, your baby and your whānau. Calls are free from cell phones. You do not need to be registered with Plunket to use this service.
Other free telehealth services
The national telehealth services are an integrated range of free, professional health and mental health and addictions services. People can get information, advice and support from trained health professionals across phone, text, and online channels.
See the HealthEd website for links to national telehealth services and a National Telehealth Service wallet card.
Find a local health service
To find out about health services in your area you can visit Healthpoint. Healthpoint provides up-to-date information about healthcare providers, referral expectations, services offered and common treatments.
