Short answer: on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, primary care in Suriname runs on a wachtdienst, a duty roster published every week by the Regionale Gezondheidsdienst (RGD): named duty GPs for each district, and two duty pharmacies, open only from 09:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 18:00. Outside those windows the duty doctors take emergencies only. The roster is at rgd.sr › Zorgaanbod › Wachtdienst, and the short number 147 reads it out by phone. For anything serious, the emergency number is 113.
How the system works
The RGD is Suriname's regional primary-health service: about 45 health centres with pharmacies along the coast from Albina to Nickerie. On weekdays you use an ordinary pharmacy. From Saturday morning the roster takes over.
Three things about it that catch visitors out:
- The windows are two hours, twice a day. A duty pharmacy is not open all weekend; it is open 09:00–10:00 and 17:00–18:00. Miss the morning and you wait for the evening.
- Only two pharmacies cover the coastal districts on a given weekend, and they are not in the tourist centre. On the weekend of 29–31 August 2026 they were in Latour, south of the centre, and in Meerzorg, across the river.
- The roster changes every week. The list below is the one published for 29–31 August 2026, shown so you can see what the page looks like; it is not this weekend's. The RGD page and the number 147 are the current source.
The practical consequence, unchanged: if you take prescription medication, bring enough of it.
Regionale Gezondheidsdienst (RGD)
Suriname’s regional primary-health service, running some 45 health centres with pharmacies along the coast from Albina to Nickerie and publishing the official on-call (wachtdienst) schedules.
The roster of 29–31 August 2026, as published
Duty pharmacies (wachtapotheken), open Saturday, Sunday and holidays 09:00–10:00 and 17:00–18:00:
| Pharmacy | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Apotheek Latour | Awaristraat 1 | 481479 |
| Apotheek Meerzorg | Weg naar Peperpot 1 | 354098 |
Duty GPs (wachtdoktoren), surgery hours Saturday and Sunday 09:00–10:00 and 17:00–18:00, emergencies only outside them:
| District | Doctor | Clinic | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paramaribo | Drs. Lahera Diaz Yamila (Sat morning) | Gezondheidscentrum Geyersvlijt | Wongsoredjostraat 2 | 454917 |
| Paramaribo | Drs. Baal Antoine (Sat & Sun afternoon) | Gezondheidscentrum Geyersvlijt | Wongsoredjostraat 2 | 454917 |
| Paramaribo | Drs. Jethoe Devika | Polikliniek Sophia's Lust | Anton Budelstraat 76 | 331401 |
| Wanica | Drs. Basropansingh Bharat | Gezondheidscentrum Koewarasan | Bomapolder serie 2 no. 2 | 350018 |
| Wanica | Drs. Naranjo Tamayo Mauro | Polikliniek Domburg | Herberstraat perceel 15 | 370044 |
| Wanica | Drs. Tjin A Joe Susan | Polikliniek Nieuwe Grond | Indira Gandhiweg 12 | 585838 |
| Para | Drs. Jhanjan Cyril | Polikliniek Bernharddorp | Indira Gandhiweg 894 | 352590 |
| Commewijne | Drs. Kewal-Algoe Indrawatie | Gezondheidscentrum Meerzorg | Weg naar Peperpot 1 | 354098 / 355182 |
| Saramacca | Drs. Kaslan Dwight | Polikliniek Tijgerkreek | Catharina Sophiastraat 208 | 375144 |
| Coronie | Drs. Brewster Franklin | Medisch Centrum Coronie | Friendship 35 | 235143 / 235221 |
| Nickerie | Drs. Hemradj Giovanni | Polikliniek Corantijnpolder | Rambaran Mirseweg 7 | 231962 |
| Nickerie | Drs. Oduardo Perez Alex | Polikliniek Groot-Henar | Wooncentrum Groot-Henar 352 | 234172 |
| Nickerie | Drs. Fullana Diaz Miguel | Polikliniek Wageningen | Molenweg 1 | 233141 |
| Marowijne | Drs. Oquendo Demar Dannis | Gezondheidscentrum Wonoredjo | Lijnweg 73 | 341305 |
| Marowijne | Drs. Macnack Vincent | Gezondheidscentrum Albina | Luitenant Weyneweg 41 | 342090 |
The RGD page also lists a home number for each doctor; we have left those out, because a visitor should use the clinic number during surgery hours and 113 outside them.
On weekdays, and the closest thing to late opening
No source we could verify confirms a true 24-hour pharmacy in Paramaribo. The longest published hours belong to Apotheek Farmsur on the Kwattaweg in Welgelegen: 07:00–22:00 every day including Sunday, reachable by phone or app overnight. Apotheek Noord in Paramaribo-Noord is the ordinary weekday pharmacy we have verified, closed Sundays and public holidays, with prescriptions accepted by WhatsApp.
Apotheek Farmsur
Pharmacy at Kwattaweg 402 in Welgelegen listed as open 07:00–22:00 every day including Sundays, the longest published hours of any Paramaribo pharmacy we found. Reachable by phone overnight; not a walk-in 24-hour pharmacy.
Apotheek Noord
Apotheek Noord, Jozef Israëlstraat 95, Paramaribo-Noord: open Monday to Friday 08:00–18:00, Saturday 09:00–16:00, closed Sundays and public holidays. Phone +597 453123; prescriptions accepted by WhatsApp. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
Hospitals
For anything a duty GP cannot handle: the Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo on Flustraat, emergency line 442288, and Sint Vincentius Ziekenhuis at Koninginnestraat 4, the closest full hospital to the historic centre, on +597 471212. The RGD's own emergency service is at Limesgracht on (+597) 434 3434. Neither hospital publishes whether foreign travellers pay cash or can bill insurance; ask your insurer before you need the answer.
Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo (AZP)
Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo (AZP), Flustraat: Suriname's academic teaching hospital with a 24-hour emergency department. Switchboard +597 442222, publicrelations@azp.sr, azp.sr. Visiting hours are posted on site only.
Sint Vincentius Ziekenhuis
Sint Vincentius Ziekenhuis, also known as the RKZ, is a general hospital at Koninginnestraat 4 in central Paramaribo. It runs a broad set of specialist departments plus an ambulance service and an in-house pharmacy.
What else to know
Suriname has been malaria-free since June 2025, but dengue and chikungunya are present and both are carried by day-biting mosquitoes; the health picture is in is Suriname safe and healthy to visit. Note that the RGD site was serving an expired security certificate when we read it on 2 September 2026; the page loads over plain http.
Roster transcribed from the RGD wachtdienst page on 2 September 2026 (roster dated 29–31 August 2026). Hospital and pharmacy facts from their own pages and directories, 21 August–2 September 2026. This page is not medical advice.
Common questions
- Is there a 24-hour pharmacy in Paramaribo?
Not that any source we could verify confirms. The longest published hours belong to Apotheek Farmsur on the Kwattaweg, 07:00–22:00 every day; outside those hours the weekend duty pharmacies open 09:00–10:00 and 17:00–18:00.
- How do I find the duty doctor in Suriname this weekend?
The Regionale Gezondheidsdienst publishes the roster weekly at rgd.sr under Zorgaanbod › Wachtdienst, and the short number 147 gives the full schedule by phone from a Surinamese line.
- What is the emergency number in Suriname?
- The RGD emergency service is on (+597) 434 3434 and the Academisch Ziekenhuis emergency line is 442288.