🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Healthcare Guide
National Referral Hospital in Honiara on Guadalcanal is the Solomon Islands' main facility, and while it handles emergencies, equipment and medication shortages are common. The country's 900-plus islands mean that healthcare outside Honiara — particularly in the Western Province and on remote atolls — is limited to basic aid posts. If you're travelling beyond Guadalcanal, bringing your complete medication supply and basic first aid items covers the reality that medical help may be a boat journey away.
Quick facts
- Emergency number: 112
- Healthcare system: mixed
- Average GP visit: $60 USD
- EHIC/GHIC accepted: No
- Language barrier: medium
Healthcare overview
National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara is the Solomon Islands’ only hospital with meaningful inpatient and specialist capabilities. Provincial hospitals in Gizo (Western Province) and Auki (Malaita) provide basic care. The country’s 900+ islands make medical access deeply dependent on geography and weather. Dive tourism around the Florida Islands and Western Province is significant, but there is no hyperbaric chamber in the country. Having your health summary saved and accessible offline covers the connectivity gap across most of the archipelago.
No hyperbaric chamber
The Solomon Islands has no recompression chamber. Divers with suspected decompression sickness face evacuation to Townsville (Australia) or Suva (Fiji).
Island geography challenge
With 900+ islands, reaching NRH in Honiara from outer provinces can take a full day by boat. Weather cancellations are common.
Vaccinations
Recommended
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Typhoid
Prescriptions and pharmacies
Honiara has basic pharmacy services, but stock arrives by irregular supply shipments and gaps in availability are normal even for common medications. Provincial areas have minimal access. Antimalarials are worth sourcing before arrival, as specific formulations may not be stocked locally. Carry your complete supply, including first aid items and rehydration salts.
Antimalarial sourcing
Malaria is present in the Solomon Islands. Source your antimalarials before arrival, as specific formulations may not be available in Honiara’s pharmacy.
Tips for travellers
NRH in Honiara provides basic specialist care, but complex conditions require evacuation to Brisbane (Australia). For divers, the absence of a hyperbaric chamber makes having your full medical history (including any dive-relevant medications like blood pressure drugs or anticoagulants) accessible offline particularly important, since the treating doctor in an emergency will need to make rapid decisions about evacuation vs local management.
Dive emergency decision-making
Without a local recompression chamber, a dive doctor’s first decision is evacuate or manage. Your accessible medical history directly informs that call.