GGD (regional public-health service) and consultatiebureau (child health clinic): where to go

A GGD is a Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst, the public-health service for a region. The consultatiebureau provides preventive care for young children as part of JGZ. The municipality commissions JGZ from its GGD, a Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (Centre for Youth and Family, CJG), or another JGZ provider. Your huisarts diagnoses and treats illness. The table below starts with the service to use, then the later sections explain the limits and regional differences.

Use JGZ for child prevention, the huisarts for illness, and the GGD for the regional public-health tasks below. Adult eligibility, appointment methods and fees can still differ by region.

The gemeente registers residents and births and is responsible for local public health and JGZ. The 25 regional GGDs carry out population-level tasks such as infection control and health monitoring, plus regional services. JGZ follows children’s physical, mental and social development. The huisarts treats individual medical problems. The RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) organises national programmes such as the RVP and receives public-health data. Check the gemeente website for your JGZ provider and the GGD finder for adult public-health services; one search may not return both.

Register a baby’s birth with the municipality where the baby was born within three days. Weekends and public holidays can extend the final day. Registration supplies the data used to arrange the newborn screenings. The hielprik (heel prick) is normally done in the first week, usually at home or in hospital. If it has not happened within seven days, follow the PNS heel-prick contact route. The gehoortest (hearing test) is also usually at home in the first week, but some regions invite the baby to a clinic a few weeks later. Both screenings are free and voluntary.

The consultatiebureau normally invites a baby at about one month. A youth doctor or nurse records growth and development, discusses feeding, sleep, language and parenting, gives RVP vaccinations, and can refer when extra support is needed. JGZ is preventive care. A sick child or a child with new symptoms needs the huisarts, not a routine consultatiebureau appointment.

JGZ continues during primary and secondary school. The invitation explains whether the child completes a questionnaire, has measurements or speaks with a youth-health professional. Participation is voluntary. A school may provide the room and timetable, but it does not perform the examination and does not receive the individual result. Contact the JGZ organisation named in the invitation if you have questions or want to object.

The Digitaal Dossier Jeugdgezondheidszorg (Digital Youth Health Care Record, DD JGZ) holds the child’s growth, development and JGZ notes. Only the JGZ doctor, nurse or assistant caring for the child can open it. A huisarts, hospital, school or gemeente does not get automatic access. JGZ normally asks for consent before sharing information with another care provider. A professional may share necessary information without consent when the law requires infectious-disease reporting or when it is needed to investigate or stop domestic violence or child abuse.

Health professionals must follow the meldcode (domestic-violence and child-abuse reporting code) when they see safety signs. That process can include discussing the concern, seeking advice and reporting to Veilig Thuis. Anyone can use Rijksoverheid’s child-safety route to ask Veilig Thuis for anonymous advice. Call 112 if a child is in immediate danger.

RIVM organises the RVP and JGZ gives the vaccinations. Programme vaccinations are free and participation is voluntary. Vaccination ages and products can change, so use the current RIVM schedule linked in the opening answer rather than a copied age list. The invitation states the local place and time. Contact the JGZ named in the invitation when you need to change an appointment or discuss the offer.

When a child settles in the Netherlands from abroad, an RIVM regional office asks for a copy of the vaccination record. RIVM then sends an overview of the vaccinations for which the child is still eligible. If the family does not answer, RIVM sends an invitation based on the child’s age. Bring every foreign vaccination record you have, even if it uses another language or schedule. If no request or invitation arrives, contact local JGZ and ask how to send the record; do not invent a catch-up schedule yourself.

A verloskundige (midwife) is the first contact for pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. You can register with a midwifery practice after a positive pregnancy test without a GP referral. During the first ten days after birth, follow the midwife’s route for concerns about the baby; the midwife can also support the mother through six weeks. After that early handover, the huisarts handles illness and the consultatiebureau follows growth, development and vaccinations. The pregnancy and birth guide covers prenatal screening, birth registration and maternity care in detail.

The IND TB requirements apply to some regular residence-permit applicants. The current exemption page covers nationality and other exemptions, including age and a recent Dutch test. Check that page for the applicant’s present situation instead of relying on an old country list. Asylum residence routes follow different requirements.

If you signed the IND declaration of intent, you must take the test within three months after receiving the residence permit. The IND says missing that period may lead to cancellation of the permit. Make the appointment with your regional GGD and take referral form 7604 with part 1 completed as far as possible. The GGD decides the test method for the person’s situation. Ask that GGD about the fee, documents, payment, accessibility and any follow-up; another region’s price or test method does not apply automatically.

Doctors and laboratories must report certain infectious diseases to the GGD. The GGD assesses the risk, looks for the source and decides whether contacts need information or protective measures. It may contact the patient or another person who was exposed. If the GGD contacts you, use the details in its call or letter and follow that investigation’s instructions. If you feel ill or need treatment, call the huisarts. RIVM receives a pseudonymised report for national monitoring, not the person’s identity.

Anyone can contact the huisarts about an STI test or sexual-health concern. A Centrum Seksuele Gezondheid (sexual health centre, CSG) at a GGD provides supplementary care for specific groups with a higher STI risk and a barrier to GP care. People under 25 are one target group, but age alone does not guarantee a test appointment. National funding has a cap, and each region uses triage and its available capacity. Check the regional criteria before travelling to a clinic.

When the GGD accepts a person under the supplementary scheme, the STI consultation, test and any treatment there are free and can be anonymous. A GGD may redirect someone when its criteria or capacity do not allow an appointment. The huisarts route remains available; the GP consultation does not use the compulsory deductible, while laboratory tests or medicines can. People under 25 can also use Sense help and regional addresses for a free confidential conversation about sexuality. Ask a private clinic for its price before booking.

Most, but not all, GGDs offer travel advice and vaccinations. GGD Reisvaccinaties shows participating regions, country information and booking. A commercial vaccination clinic is another route. Travel vaccines sit outside the free national programmes in most cases, so ask the chosen provider for its consultation and vaccine prices. A supplementary insurance policy may reimburse some costs; check the policy before booking.

Birth or Basisregistratie Personen (Personal Records Database, BRP) registration supports invitations, but a newcomer family should not keep waiting for an automatic letter. Find the local JGZ through the gemeente website and request contact. After a move, tell both the old and new JGZ organisations and ask how the DD JGZ will be transferred. Keep the vaccination certificate and foreign records until the new provider confirms what it has received. For a newborn heel prick, use the seven-day PNS contact rule instead of waiting for a routine invitation.

Tell the provider before the appointment which language, communication, mobility or sensory support you need. The provider assesses whether an interpreter is necessary and whether that should be a professional interpreter. Funding and availability are not uniform, so ask who arranges and pays for it. For consent, sexual health, safeguarding or another complex or sensitive conversation, ask for a professional interpreter. A child should not interpret for an adult in these appointments.

First ask the organisation that delivered the service to explain or correct the problem. If that does not resolve it, ask for its complaints procedure and independent klachtenfunctionaris (complaints officer); the complaints officer is free. For a heel-prick or hearing-test complaint, contact the organisation that performed the test about its performance and RIVM about the national programme. Ask for a copy of relevant correspondence and keep dates, names and the requested outcome.

A GGD, consultatiebureau or school-health appointment is not an urgent-treatment route. During GP opening hours, call the huisarts for urgent medical help. Outside those hours, call the regional huisartsenpost first. Call 112 for a life-threatening emergency. During pregnancy or the early postnatal period, also follow the urgent number and instructions from the midwifery practice. The emergency-care guide explains the routes and costs. For a non-urgent public-health service, start with your postcode on GGD.nl; for child preventive care, start with the gemeente’s JGZ page.