Sick Child at Night in Cologne: Medical Notdienst vs Child Protection GSD
Cologne runs its pediatric emergency medical service (kinderärztlicher Notdienst) through three hospital-based locations: the Uni-Kinderklinik at Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9 in Lindenthal, the children's hospital on Amsterdamer Straße in Riehl, and Krankenhaus Porz on Urbacher Weg 19. This is purely a medical service for acutely sick children outside regular pediatrician hours, reachable through the federal 116117 line. It is completely separate from Cologne's child protection emergency service, the Gefährdungsmeldungs-Sofort-Dienst (GSD), reachable at 0221 221-99999 outside the Jugendamt's normal hours, which exists for reporting suspected abuse or neglect, not for treating a sick child. Reported opening hours for the medical Notdienst vary slightly between sources (roughly weekday evenings and full days on weekends and holidays), so confirm current hours by calling 116117 before you go.
The Official Rule
Cologne runs two entirely separate systems that both involve children and both operate outside normal daytime hours, and it’s worth being precise about which one you actually need.
Medical: The Kinderärztlicher Notdienst
For a child who’s acutely sick outside your regular pediatrician’s hours, fever, injury, something that genuinely needs a doctor’s attention now, Cologne’s pediatricians staff a kinderärztlicher Notdienst across three hospital-based locations:
| Location | Address |
|---|---|
| Uni-Kinderklinik | Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9, Köln-Lindenthal |
| Children's hospital, Amsterdamer Straße | Amsterdamer Straße, Köln-Riehl |
| Krankenhaus Porz | Urbacher Weg 19, Köln-Porz |
Reach this service through 116117, Germany’s nationwide federal medical on-call number, which routes you to the appropriate location. Local pediatric practice guidance for Cologne lists these same three locations and confirms 116117 as the number to call first.
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A Note on Hours: Sources Genuinely Disagree
Researching this page turned up real variation between sources on exact opening hours. One source lists roughly Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings from 7 to 11pm, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 11pm, and full-day weekend and holiday coverage from 8am to 11pm. Another lists somewhat shorter weekday evening windows and a later weekend start time. Rather than print a specific schedule here and risk sending you to a closed clinic, the honest and genuinely useful advice is: call 116117 first, confirm which location is currently staffed and what today’s actual hours are, and only then travel.
Child Protection: The GSD, a Completely Different Service
The Gefährdungsmeldungs-Sofort-Dienst (GSD) is Cologne’s child protection emergency reporting line, run by the Jugendamt. Stadt Köln’s own page confirms it accepts all reports of suspected child abuse and neglect around the clock, including nights, holidays, and weekends, reachable outside the Jugendamt’s regular hours at 0221 221-99999.
This has nothing to do with medical care. It exists for reporting genuine concerns about a child’s safety and welfare, not for a fever or an injury. Confusing the two numbers wastes exactly the time you don’t have when a child is actually sick.
| Service | What it's for | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Kinderärztlicher Notdienst | Your child is sick and needs a doctor now | 116117 |
| GSD | Reporting suspected child abuse or neglect | 0221 221-99999 |
| 112 | Genuine life-threatening emergency | 112 |
Step by Step
- Assess urgency first. Genuine life-threatening emergency: call 112. Acutely sick but not life-threatening, outside pediatrician hours: continue below.
- Call 116117, Germany’s federal medical on-call number, to reach the pediatric Notdienst and confirm which of the three locations is staffed right now.
- Do not assume a printed schedule is current, sources genuinely disagree on hours, confirming by phone avoids a wasted trip.
- Travel to the confirmed location: Uni-Kinderklinik (Lindenthal), the children’s hospital on Amsterdamer Straße (Riehl), or Krankenhaus Porz (Urbacher Weg 19).
- If your concern is about a child’s safety or welfare rather than illness, that’s the GSD’s territory, 0221 221-99999, not the medical Notdienst.
Compliance Note
This page explains general practice around pediatric emergency and child protection services in Cologne, but it is not medical advice. For any urgent situation, call 112 for genuine emergencies or 116117 to confirm current medical Notdienst details before traveling to a location.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
What's the difference between the medical Notdienst and the GSD?
They handle entirely different problems. The kinderärztlicher Notdienst is a medical service, staffed by Cologne pediatricians, for children who are acutely sick outside regular pediatrician hours, a fever, an injury, something that genuinely needs a doctor now. The Gefährdungsmeldungs-Sofort-Dienst (GSD) is Cologne's child protection reporting line, run by the Jugendamt, for reporting suspected abuse or neglect, available around the clock including nights, holidays, and weekends at 0221 221-99999. If your child is sick, you want the medical Notdienst, not the GSD.
Where are the three medical Notdienst locations?
The Uni-Kinderklinik at Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9 in Cologne-Lindenthal, the children's hospital on Amsterdamer Straße in Cologne-Riehl, and Krankenhaus Porz on Urbacher Weg 19 in Cologne-Porz. All three are hospital-based and staffed by Cologne pediatricians specifically for out-of-hours pediatric care, not general emergency rooms.
How do I actually reach the medical Notdienst?
Call 116117, Germany's federal medical on-call service number. This routes you to the appropriate local service and helps confirm which of the three Cologne locations is currently staffed and what the current hours are, since exact hours have been reported slightly differently across sources and can shift. Don't just show up at one of the three locations assuming it's open, call first.
What if it's a genuine emergency, not just an out-of-hours illness?
Call 112, Germany's emergency number for ambulance and fire services, for anything life-threatening. Neither 116117 nor the GSD is the right line for a genuine emergency, they're for non-life-threatening but urgent situations (116117) or child protection concerns (GSD), not for calling an ambulance.
Why do different sources give different hours for the Notdienst?
We found real variation between sources when researching this page, one listing roughly Monday, Tuesday, Thursday evenings 7 to 11pm, Wednesday and Friday 1 to 11pm, and full-day weekend and holiday coverage 8am to 11pm, another listing somewhat shorter evening windows and a later weekend start. Rather than pick one set of hours and risk sending you to a closed clinic, the honest answer is to confirm current hours by calling 116117 before you travel to any of the three locations.
Is the GSD only for professionals, or can parents call it too?
Stadt Köln's own description states the GSD accepts all reports of suspected child abuse and neglect around the clock, without restricting who can call. If you're a parent with a genuine child protection concern, whether about your own household or someone else's, this is the correct number outside the Jugendamt's regular hours. It is not, however, the number to call for a sick child, that mix-up wastes time you don't have in an actual medical situation.