When children get sick on weekends, many parents experience stress. The family doctor's office is closed, the pediatric practice is overcrowded – and the emergency room means waiting for hours. Yet your child needs quick, trustworthy help.
RAB Berlin, the private medical on-call service, offers exactly that: experienced pediatricians and general practitioners who come directly to your home – quickly, reliably, and without detours through an anonymous call center.
Why Children Need Medical Help on Weekends
Young patients often become ill suddenly. Fever, cough, stomach pain, or ear pain frequently occur precisely when no practice is open. Parents with toddlers or infants especially know: every hour counts.
Many parents drive to the emergency room out of uncertainty, even though the condition is not life-threatening. There they often wait for many hours – and the child becomes exhausted, stressed, and restless.
This is exactly where RAB Berlin comes in: doctors come directly to you, examine your child in a familiar environment, and provide calm, safe treatment.
What RAB Berlin Offers on Weekends
RAB Berlin specializes in quick medical care – including Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. All doctors have many years of clinical experience in pediatrics and general medicine.
Services at a glance:
- House visits for acute illness in children of all age groups
- Specialist examination, diagnosis, and treatment on-site
- Medication prescription and medical certificates for parents if needed
- Child-friendly atmosphere – without clinic stress
- Flexible appointment scheduling by phone or online
- Daily availability from 6 a.m. to midnight
RAB Berlin is not a call center. When you first call, you speak with medically trained staff who assess your situation and assign an appropriate doctor.
Typical Situations When RAB Berlin Helps
Parents frequently contact the on-call service for:
- High, persistent fever
- Ear pain or middle ear infection
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach cramps
- Rash, allergic reactions
- Breathing difficulties, cough, croup
- Severe abdominal pain or suspected appendicitis
Doctors typically arrive within 60 to 90 minutes. If necessary, they can administer infusions, give medications, and decide whether hospital treatment is required.
Procedure for a Pediatric House Visit
- Contact: You call RAB Berlin or book online.
- Response: A doctor will call you back shortly to assess your child's condition.
- Arrival: The pediatrician arrives at your home within approximately one hour.
- Examination: Your child receives a thorough, calm, patient, and child-appropriate examination.
- Treatment: The doctor decides on further therapy, prescribes medications if needed, and provides guidance for home care.
- Follow-up: If the condition worsens, a follow-up house visit can be arranged or a hospital referral made.
Benefits for Parents and Children
- No waiting times: The doctor comes to you – no long hours in the waiting room.
- Stress-free atmosphere: Children remain in their familiar surroundings.
- Specialist quality: Only experienced doctors in service.
- Quick help: Typically on-site within 90 minutes.
- Transparent costs: Billing according to the German Medical Fee Schedule (GOÄ). Privately insured patients pay no additional charges; self-payers receive a fair invoice.
- Personal care: Direct contact, no intermediaries.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How quickly does a pediatrician arrive on weekends?
On weekends, the paediatrician from RAB Berlin typically reaches you within 60 to 90 minutes of your call or online booking. At particularly busy times — Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons, public holidays or during widespread infection waves — waiting times can stretch to around two hours. Our dispatch team gives you an honest time estimate already at the moment of booking and actively reaches out to you should any noticeable delay occur. Please have the yellow paediatric examination booklet, the vaccination record and current values (temperature, fluid intake, stool and any medications given) ready. For life-threatening symptoms — severe breathing difficulties, seizures, unconsciousness, prolonged febrile convulsions or suspected sepsis — please dial 112 immediately. The rescue service is significantly faster, can stabilise your child on the spot and take them directly to the most suitable children's hospital if intensive care is needed.
What does a house visit cost?
A paediatric home visit by RAB Berlin typically costs between 190 and 250 euros, depending on the time of day, the weekday and the distance within Berlin. The fee covers the journey, examination, consultation and the issuing of all standard documents such as prescriptions, work-incapacity certificates for parents or attendance excuses for school and kindergarten. Additional services such as rapid tests, smaller procedures or special examinations are billed separately according to the German official scale of medical fees (GOÄ). Private insurers and Beihilfe offices usually reimburse the costs in full, provided your tariff covers home visits and paediatric services. Self-payers receive a transparent, easy-to-understand invoice and can pay in cash, by EC card or credit card directly on site. On request we issue the invoice in English as well, which makes reimbursement through travel or expat health insurers much easier.
Does RAB Berlin treat statutory health insurance patients?
Yes. Parents whose children are insured under the German statutory health system can use the RAB Berlin service on weekends as self-payers. This is particularly sensible when the statutory paediatric on-call service via 116 117 is heavily overloaded, the nearest children's emergency department has long waiting times, or travelling with a sick small child would simply not be reasonable. As this is a private medical service, reimbursement by the statutory health insurance is generally not provided. You receive a transparent invoice according to the German official scale of medical fees (GOÄ) and can pay in cash, by EC card or credit card directly on site. On request our team is happy to advise you by phone beforehand whether a private home visit is the right choice for your situation, or whether the statutory paediatric on-call service or a children's hospital would be more appropriate.
Are prescriptions and medical certificates issued?
Yes. Our paediatricians may issue all standard German medical documents directly during the home visit. This includes private prescriptions for prescription-only medication such as antibiotics, fever reducers or inhalation solutions, prescriptions for therapeutic aids and remedies, and referrals to specialists or hospitals. Parents can, where appropriate, receive an official certificate confirming the need to care for a sick child (Bescheinigung zur Pflege erkrankter Kinder), which is accepted by employers and health insurers. We can also issue attendance excuses for kindergarten, school, travel insurers or sports federations — in German and English on request. For acutely needed medication we point you to the nearest emergency pharmacy or arrange a courier delivery. This spares you the visit to your paediatrician the following day and lets you focus fully on your child's recovery without disrupting weekend routines.
When should you call 112 instead?
For life-threatening symptoms in your child, 112 is always the right choice — every minute can be decisive. Call the emergency rescue service immediately for: unconsciousness or marked drowsiness, severe breathing difficulties with blue lips or visible retraction of the breathing muscles, seizures (including febrile seizures lasting more than five minutes or repeating themselves), suspected severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), heavy bleeding, burns covering larger skin areas, sudden inability to move a body part, suspected poisoning, and in infants under three months any high fever (above 38.0 °C), inconsolable crying or unusual reluctance to drink. Do not lose time with long phone calls to private services. Once the acute danger has been managed by the rescue service or hospital, RAB Berlin is happy to take over follow-up care at home so that your child can recover in familiar surroundings.
When RAB Berlin Is Particularly Beneficial
When your child becomes suddenly ill but there is no life-threatening emergency, RAB Berlin is the right place to turn. The private medical on-call service relieves emergency rooms and ensures your child receives quick, safe, and empathetic care – directly in your home.
Conclusion
A sick child needs rest, security, and quick help – especially on weekends. RAB Berlin combines all of this in one service: specialist treatment, short waiting times, and personal care in your own home. Parents can rely on their child receiving competent and compassionate treatment – without stress and long journeys.
If you need quick medical help in Berlin, reach RAB Berlin daily from 6 a.m. to midnight at
030 550 77 870
or book your appointment directly online at
https://rab-arztbesuche.berlin/online-buchen/.
RAB Berlin's specialist doctors typically arrive at your home within 60 to 90 minutes.