Your child has been off form since teatime, the surgery closed an hour ago, and you are trying to judge whether this is a tonight problem, a tomorrow problem, or a problem a doctor could help with over the phone right now. This article is for that judgement. It is written by a service that offers online consultations, so it starts with the cases where an online doctor is the wrong answer for a child, and only then gets to the cases where it is the right one.
If any of this applies to your child, stop reading and get emergency help
Call 112 or 999, or go straight to an emergency department, for a child who:
Is floppy, unusually drowsy, or hard to wake
Is breathing with obvious difficulty, or breathing very fast
Has a rash that does not fade when you press a glass against it, especially with a fever
Has a seizure
Has a severe allergic reaction
Has a serious head injury, or has lost consciousness
Has severe or uncontrolled bleeding
Has sudden, severe abdominal pain
If you are unsure how serious something is, treat it as serious. No online service is for an emergency, and HealthDoc's own booking page says so.
For everything else, here is the position in plain terms. An online doctor can help with a child's problem that a parent can describe and show on camera, and cannot help with one that needs the child to be examined, and young children need examining more often than adults do. Under Medical Council guidance a parent's consent is generally needed before a child under 16 is treated, so the parent books, is present, and speaks for the child. At HealthDoc, a parent can add a child profile and book on the child's behalf; a consultation is €34.99 in normal hours and €39.99 out of hours and at weekends. And before any of that: every child under 8 in Ireland is entitled to free GP visits through the HSE's under 8s GP visit card, which no online service can match on price.
If your child is under 8 and you have not registered for that card, that is the most useful thing on this page. The rest explains why children are different, how consent works, what a HealthDoc consultation for a child involves, and where to go when online is not enough.
Why children are different
Two things make a child's consultation different from an adult's, and both push towards in-person care more often.
The first is the examination. The Medical Council's guide for patients says a consultation through telemedicine does not involve a physical examination, and the doctor may suggest you send a photograph of a physical sign such as a rash. For an adult who can describe exactly where it hurts and how it has changed, that limit is often manageable. A young child cannot describe, and the things a doctor most wants to check in a small child, their ears, their throat, their chest sounds, their temperature and how they are breathing, are things a doctor needs to be in the room for. A parent's description and a phone camera cover some of that ground. They do not cover all of it, and an honest online doctor will say when they have reached the edge.
The second is speed of change. Small children can go from grand to unwell, or the other way, within an hour, which is why the emergency list at the top of this article is longer for children than for adults, and why "if you are unsure, treat it as serious" is the rule.
None of this means an online consultation has no place for a child. It means the question "does this need an examination?" should be asked more sceptically for a child than for yourself.
Who consents, and who is on the call
The Medical Council's Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics sets the rule. For a child under 16, in general, the consent of a parent should be obtained before providing treatment, and it is good practice to involve the child in the discussion as appropriate to their age and maturity. A young person aged 16 or 17 can give consent to medical treatment themselves, though the Guide says it is good practice to involve parents if the young person agrees.
In practice, for a child under 16 that means the parent or guardian books the consultation, is present for it, gives the history, and consents to any plan. The child should be there too, on camera where possible, because the doctor will want to see them, and older children should be asked and listened to in line with the Guide.
At HealthDoc, a parent adds a child profile to their own account, with the child's date of birth, gender and relationship, and books on the child's behalf; households that use a doctor often can put up to four family members on the Family plan. [NEEDS-CONFIRMATION: the minimum age of child HealthDoc's doctors will consult on, and whether it differs for phone and video.] [NEEDS-CONFIRMATION: whether HealthDoc requires the parent or guardian to be present on the call for every consultation involving a child under 16.] Until those two points are confirmed, treat this article as describing the Council's general rule rather than HealthDoc's specific policy.
Before you pay anyone: the under 8s GP visit card
Every child under 8 who is living in Ireland is entitled to an under 8s GP visit card, which covers free GP visits, care for children with asthma, and health assessments at age 2 and 5. It is not means-tested. You register online with the HSE; if your child already has a medical card you do not need to. Hospital charges are not covered.
That card covers the child's visits to a participating GP, and to the GP out-of-hours service, for free. It does not cover a private online consultation. So for a child under 8 the honest order is: register for the card if you have not, use your GP practice or the out-of-hours service for anything that may need an examination, and treat an online consultation as the option for the specific cases below rather than the default.
When an online consultation is a reasonable choice for a child
With the limits stated, these are the situations where parents reasonably use an online doctor for a child.
A visible problem you can show. A rash the doctor can see on camera, subject to the emergency rule above about rashes that do not fade; a skin change; something visible the doctor can assess with a good photograph and a good description.
A question about whether to be seen at all. A short online consultation can be the quickest way to hear a doctor say "this needs to be seen today" or "this can wait for the surgery in the morning". That is a legitimate use, and a doctor who gives the first answer has done their job.
A follow-up on something already diagnosed. Where a doctor has already examined the child and asked a parent to report back, the report-back often does not need hands.
A school or crèche note. Where a child has been unwell and a certificate is needed, a doctor can assess and, where the assessment supports it, issue a medical certificate, which arrives in the patient portal.
A child over 8 with a problem they can describe. Older children can give a history, and the examination limit bites less often, though it still applies.
In each case the doctor decides whether what they can see and hear is enough. If it is not, they will say so and help you take the next step. The general version of this test, for adults as well as children, is in when an online doctor is not the right choice.
Where to take a child instead
Your GP practice, first, for anything that may need an examination, and free with the under 8s card or a medical card.
The GP out-of-hours service, when the surgery is closed and the problem is urgent. The HSE describes it as being for all ages, by appointment only with no walk-in service; it is free with the child's GP visit card or medical card if you bring it. The HSE's urgent and emergency care finder gives the number for your area.
An injury unit, for a suspected fracture, sprain, cut or minor burn, but check the age limit: the HSE says most injury units treat patients over 5, and some have higher age limits. The fee is €75, waived with a medical card or a GP referral letter. For a younger child, the emergency department is the route.
The emergency department, for anything on the list at the top of this article, and for anything about your child that frightens you.
Frequently asked questions
Can a child see an online doctor in Ireland?
Yes, for a problem a parent can describe and show, with the parent present and consenting, and subject to the doctor's judgement that an examination is not needed. Young children need examining more often than adults, so the threshold for in-person care is lower.
Does a parent have to be present for a child's online consultation?
Under Medical Council guidance a parent's consent is generally needed for treatment of a child under 16, and in practice the parent gives the history and consents. [NEEDS-CONFIRMATION: HealthDoc's own requirement.]
Are GP visits free for children in Ireland?
For children under 8, yes, through the HSE's under 8s GP visit card, which is not means-tested and covers GP visits, asthma care and assessments at 2 and 5. Older children are covered if the family holds a medical card or the child holds a GP visit card.
Can an online doctor issue a sick note for school or crèche?
Where the doctor has assessed the child and the assessment supports it, a medical certificate can be issued and arrives in the patient portal. At HealthDoc a medical certificate is €24.99 in normal hours.
What can an online doctor not do for a child?
Examine them. Ears, throat, chest, temperature and breathing all need a doctor in the room, and anything on the emergency list needs 112 or 999.
Can a 16-year-old book an online doctor themselves?
Under Medical Council guidance a young person aged 16 or 17 can consent to medical treatment. The Guide says it is good practice to involve parents if the young person agrees. [NEEDS-CONFIRMATION: whether HealthDoc allows a 16- or 17-year-old to hold their own account.]
Written by the HealthDoc team. This article is general information about when an online consultation may or may not be suitable for a child, drawing on the Medical Council's published guidance, the HSE's under 8s GP visit card page, and HealthDoc's own pages. It is not medical advice and cannot assess your child: if in doubt, treat it as serious and seek in-person or emergency care. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.
A problem you can describe and show, with your child beside you? Book a consultation. Anything on the emergency list, or anything that needs hands, use the routes above.