Medical care in Mauritius

The essentials come down to one number: 114. It is the number of the SAMU, the emergency medical service, whose control room, at Victoria Hospital, operates twenty-four hours a day, all year round. It handles around a thousand calls a day, and received 366,587 over the 2021-2022 financial year. The SAMU treats patients on the spot, stabilises life-threatening emergencies in transit and carries out transfers between hospitals, including by air.

Public hospital care rests on five regional hospitals: Dr Abdool Gaffoor Jeetoo Hospital, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, Sir Anerood Jugnauth Hospital, Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital and Victoria Hospital. Two district hospitals complete the picture, along with seven specialised institutions, among them an eye hospital, an ear, nose and throat centre, two cardiac centres and a new cancer hospital.

In June 2022, the public hospitals had 171 departments and 3,620 beds, including 54 intensive care beds for adults and 29 for newborns. Each of the five regional hospitals has an accident and emergency department, to which a resuscitation unit has been added since emergency medicine became a specialty in its own right, in 2019. Over the 2021-2022 financial year, these departments saw around 2,553 patients a day, and the regional and specialised hospitals performed 45,681 operations, including 7,051 for cataracts and 895 open-heart procedures.

For everyday ailments, the primary care network comprises 19 area health centres, 114 community health centres, 6 mediclinics and 2 community hospitals, spread so that everyone has one within a radius of three kilometres. Alongside this public network, the island has private clinics, with which the ministry has agreements for certain treatments. The central public health laboratory alone offers more than 350 different tests. For a traveller staying in a hotel, telephoning the management is a useful first reflex, as well as calling 114.

For minor ailments, there is the pharmacy. In 2022, the island had 380 retail pharmacies and 45 wholesalers. The Pharmacy Board grants operating licences and oversees the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of medicines. The profession is practised under the Pharmacy Act of 1983, the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2000 and the Pharmacy Council Act of 2015, the council with which 555 pharmacists were then registered.

For the journey home, prescription medicines are allowed in the cabin, as are common medicines sold without prescription: cough syrup, decongestant spray, eye care products, painkillers.

One peculiarity deserves a mention. Mauritius is one of the few countries outside India where Ayurvedic medicine is legal and governed by statute, the Ayurvedic and Other Traditional Medicines Act of 1989, which also recognises homeopathy and Chinese medicine. Six public Ayurvedic clinics see patients six days a week.

The island has no dangerous, deadly or venomous animals. Wasps and bees can sting painfully and, in rare cases, cause an allergic reaction: a doctor or a pharmacist will deal with it.

That leaves the mosquito. In 2026, the Ministry of Health ran a campaign against dengue and chikungunya. The common signs of dengue are fever and headache, severe fatigue, vomiting and muscle pain. Bleeding from the nose or gums, blood in the stools, urine or vomit, and abdominal pain point to a severe form. Three measures cover most of the protection needed: use mosquito repellent, wear light-coloured clothes with long sleeves, sleep under a mosquito net. A dedicated line, 8924, answers questions.

In the water, a few species call for attention. Stonefish and lionfish inflict very painful stings, and sea urchins and jellyfish alike can cause a strong reaction. A sting of this kind warrants seeing a doctor.

Since 2012, water from the public supply has been treated to meet the drinking water standards of the World Health Organization: you can drink it from the tap.

Beyond 114, the police answer on 999 or 112, and the fire service on 995 or 115. These are numbers to save in your phone on arrival, and to pass on to those travelling with you.