Mauritius has a two-tier system. The public hospitals are free to residents, handle the majority of the island's care, and are crowded. The private clinics are where relocating families go, and they are good: doctors trained in France, the United Kingdom, India and South Africa, modern equipment, short waits, and English and French spoken throughout.
The clinics to know. The two full-service private hospitals are in the centre of the island: the C-Care group's Wellkin Hospital at Moka, the largest and most modern with an intensive care unit and a 24-hour emergency department, and Clinique Darné at Floréal, long established with maternity and intensive care. There are private clinics in the north at Grand Baie and along the coast road, and a network of registered laboratories for the tests the permit requires. From Tamarin or Grand Baie, the Moka hospitals are around twenty to thirty minutes without traffic.
What is treated abroad. The island is small and some specialisms do not have the volume to exist here. Advanced oncology, complex cardiac surgery and major neurosurgery are commonly referred to South Africa, Réunion or France. This is not a failing of the system; it is a consequence of a population of 1.3 million. But it has one direct implication for a relocating family: the health insurance must include medical evacuation and treatment abroad, and that clause is the one to read before signing.
Insurance. Two routes. Local insurers offer plans from around MUR 2,000 to 4,000 a month per person for private consultations, hospitalisation and medication in Mauritius, usually without evacuation. International insurers offer plans from around USD 200 to 500 a month per person with worldwide cover and evacuation included. Many families combine a local plan for day-to-day care with international cover for the serious case. Check how the policy treats pre-existing conditions, whether dependents are covered on an employer's plan, and whether the clinic you would use has a direct billing agreement with the insurer.
Everyday health. Pharmacies are well stocked and many medicines are available over the counter at reasonable prices; specific brand-name treatments should be checked for availability before the move. The tap water is treated but most households filter it. Dengue and chikungunya circulate in the summer months and the mosquito is the one animal to take seriously; malaria is effectively absent. Cyclone season runs from November into April, with the formal warning period extending to mid-May, and the clinics remain open through it.
What we arrange. The medical examination the permit requires, at a registered clinic, timed to the application. Introductions to a GP, a paediatrician and a dentist near where the family will live. And the insurance conversation before arrival rather than after, because the evacuation clause is easier to get right on paper than in an emergency.