Situation · At night in Berlin
Doctor Berlin at night (until midnight)
Doctor Berlin at night (until midnight) is an occasion for a private medical home visit, for which RAB Arztbesuche dispatches a licensed physician to your home, office or hotel in Berlin daily from 6 am to midnight.
In the hours before midnight Berlin is quiet — and outpatient care is sparse. Our board-certified team operates until midnight. We are honest about the rest: after midnight 116117 covers medical advice and 112 covers life-threatening emergencies. Before midnight, however, we come, examine, treat and lay the groundwork for a quiet night.
Medically reviewed by Susanne Reiche · Last reviewed
Sick at night in Berlin — what works, what does not
Berlin's night-time care has three clearly separate systems. Life-threatening emergencies go via 112 — ambulance and emergency physicians 24/7. Low-threshold medical advice and KV-organised on-call visits run via 116117 — reachable at night too, sometimes with substantial waits. In between sits the private house call: high-quality care by a board-certified physician, paid privately or via PKV. We offer this private house call until midnight — not after.
We are transparent about it because medical honesty demands it. A service that markets itself as 24/7 but is either unreachable or several hours away at night helps nobody. We concentrate our capacity on the 6 AM to midnight window — and are reliably reachable in that window. Call at 10:30 PM and a board-certified physician arrives at your home before midnight. Call at 1:30 AM and you get an honest recommendation — 116117 for telephone advice, 112 for life-threatening symptoms — and we are available again from 6 AM for continuing care.
Typical pre-midnight reasons
Common: paediatric fever spikes in the late evening, croup with barking cough and inspiratory stridor, acute otitis media, severe sore throat with swallowing impairment, acute lumbago, migraine with vomiting, gastroenteritis, hypertensive crises, allergic reactions short of anaphylaxis, febrile urinary-tract infections, conjunctivitis, minor wounds. Hotel guests becoming ill after a long office day or conference week are a category of their own.
If midnight passes mid-visit — what then?
If an ongoing house call extends past midnight (a longer infusion, a hospital transfer to organise), our physician of course stays with the patient. What we will not accept: new bookings after 11 PM that we cannot deliver before midnight. We say so honestly on the call and point to the right contacts for the night.
How a pre-midnight visit works
You call. We take down symptoms, address and insurance status, check remaining shift time and give a realistic window. Last bookings typically up to 10:30 PM — for very central addresses in Mitte or Charlottenburg up to 11 PM. The physician calls before arrival.
On site we examine thoroughly, run diagnostics (rapid tests, ECG, pulse oximetry), treat, issue prescription and sick note. If needed we coordinate a hospital referral — part of our night-shift work, especially for non-life-threatening but workup-requiring findings (suspected appendicitis, suspected cholecystitis, high fever with sepsis risk).
GOÄ night surcharge
The GOÄ defines a night surcharge — typically from 8 or 10 PM depending on the code. For PKV and Beihilfe patients this has no out-of-pocket effect. Self-payers should expect an invoice between EUR 240 and 400 in the late evening.
The invoice is issued through our Privatärztliche Verrechnungsstelle, itemised by GOÄ code. For the night between midnight and 6 AM, use 116117 (telephone advice and KV on-call visits) or 112 (emergency services). We recommend honestly.
Emergency? Dial the emergency number
If unconscious, with severe chest pain, breathlessness or heavy bleeding, dial 112 immediately. Our service complements the emergency services — it does not replace them.
Case profiles
Typical scenarios
Child with croup at 10:45 PM
Four-year-old in Friedrichshain, barking cough and inspiratory stridor, parents distressed. We arrive in 55 minutes, single dose of dexamethasone syrup, fresh-air instructions, observation, phone follow-up in the morning. Parents sleep, child breathes quietly.
Migraine with vomiting at 11 PM
Patient in Charlottenburg, migraine attack for hours, unable to keep down oral triptans. Intramuscular antiemetic and triptan, dimmed room, asleep within the hour, callback number left for the night.
Hypertensive crisis at 10 PM
Seventy-eight-year-old in Schmargendorf, BP 220/120, headache, vertigo. ECG without acute findings, first-line antihypertensive, 30 minutes observation down to 165/95, hospital referral recommended given the symptom complex, family informed.
Hotel sore throat at 9:30 PM
Business traveller at a Mitte hotel, unable to swallow, fever. Positive streptococcus rapid test, first dose of antibiotic, prescription, English sick note for the return trip, phone follow-up in the morning.
Frequently asked questions
Do you really still come at 10 PM?
Yes — last bookings typically up to 10:30 PM, in central districts up to 11 PM. We check the remaining shift time on the call and tell you honestly whether we can reach you before midnight.
What if I call at 2 AM?
We recommend 116117 for medical advice and possible KV home visits, or 112 for life-threatening symptoms. We are reachable again from 6 AM — for follow-up the next morning, contact us at any time.
How big is the night surcharge?
The GOÄ defines multiple surcharge tiers. Self-payer invoices in the late evening are typically EUR 40 to 80 higher than in the daytime. PKV reimburses in full.
Can you arrange a hospital referral?
Yes. If a finding requires inpatient workup we coordinate the referral to a suitable Berlin hospital and cover the patient until transport.
Book now or call
Get in touch — we will arrange a doctor for Doctor Berlin at night (until midnight).