Healthcare in Cambodia

Cambodia has the weakest healthcare of the four countries I cover. Phnom Penh has a handful of good private hospitals, but outside the capital there’s almost nothing that can handle an emergency, and complex cases are flown to Bangkok, Singapore or Ho Chi Minh City.

So in Cambodia, where you live and what your insurance covers matter more than anywhere else in the region. This is for older movers working out whether that trade is acceptable, and how to set themselves up if it is.

How good is healthcare in Cambodia?

Smartraveller is blunt: public medical facilities are generally poor, and outside Phnom Penh there are almost no facilities that can deal with a medical emergency. Foreign-run private clinics operate in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

Three things follow from that:

• Where you live matters more than in Thailand or Vietnam. In Phnom Penh a decent private hospital is a short ride away. In Kampot or Kep, most specialist care is three to four hours away by road.
• Serious cases often leave the country. For complex surgery, cancer treatment and major trauma, many expats are treated in Bangkok, Singapore or Ho Chi Minh City.
• Nothing is free for foreigners. Cambodia has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia or the UK, and US Medicare doesn’t apply overseas. Insurance with evacuation cover is the foundation of your plan, not an extra.

The main hospitals in Phnom Penh

The UK Government keeps a list of English-speaking doctors and medical facilities in Cambodia, last updated in January 2026. It doesn’t endorse anyone, but it’s the best official starting point. These are the hospitals most expats deal with:

Royal Phnom Penh Hospital is the name you’ll hear most. Bangkok Hospital says it became the first JCI-accredited hospital in Cambodia in 2017, has 100 beds and a 14-bed ICU, and can arrange air evacuation with a medical team to Bangkok. It works with Bangkok Hospital’s team on planned cardiac surgery and with Wattanasoth Cancer Hospital in Bangkok on cancer care, which tells you where its complex cases go.

Calmette is the main public hospital, and many of its doctors speak French. The UK list warns that language is the main barrier for foreigners there, and that in some cases foreigners pay up to twice the local price.

The UK list also includes Central Hospital, Intercare Hospital and the Advance European Medicare Centre, and Phnom Penh is the only place on it with psychiatric care.

Hospitals outside Phnom Penh

Siem Reap has Royal Angkor International Hospital on National Road 6. It’s another BDMS member, with 24-hour emergency care (+855 12 235 888), ambulance and air evacuation, an ICU, surgery and CT. Anything complex still goes to Phnom Penh or Bangkok.

Kampot has Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital, a non-profit hospital about 7km out of town on National Road 3, on the road to Bokor. Its website lists a 24-hour emergency department (+855 78 265 782), surgery, a blood bank, an ambulance and a CT scanner, with the outpatient clinic open Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm. Poor families are treated free, and patients who can pay are charged. Nothing else in Kampot appears on the UK or Australian lists.

Kampot is likely my next base, so I read this part closely. One hospital with a CT scanner and a 24-hour emergency department is a lot better than nothing, but it isn’t Phnom Penh. If you have a heart condition, or anything else where minutes matter, weigh that before you choose a town.

Kep has no facility on either the UK or the Australian list. The nearest listed hospital is Sonja Kill, on the far side of Kampot.

Sihanoukville has foreign-run private clinics, according to Smartraveller, but nothing on the UK list.

Battambang has one clinic on the UK list, Handa Medical Centre. The western part of Battambang province is inside Smartraveller’s do-not-travel zone along the Thai border, so check the current map before you consider it.

Everywhere else, assume basic care at best.

Emergency numbers

Smartraveller says to call 119 for a medical emergency in Phnom Penh, or go straight to a hospital, and outside Phnom Penh to contact a hospital directly. The UK Government also gives 119 for an ambulance. Outside the capital, that makes your nearest hospital’s own emergency line the number that matters.

Paying: usually cash before treatment

Smartraveller says hospitals and doctors generally want cash before they treat you, even in an emergency, though they sometimes accept proof of insurance. Hospital costs can reach thousands of dollars, and a hospital may keep your passport until you pay.

What that means for you:

• Carry a credit card with a high limit. Most of the private hospitals on the UK list take cards.
• Insurance only helps at the counter if the hospital accepts it. The UK list notes that providers take insurance once the insurer has approved it. Otherwise you pay and claim it back.
• Call your insurer’s assistance line early, ideally from the emergency department, so it can guarantee payment to the hospital.
• Keep every receipt and medical report. You need them for the claim and for the next doctor.

When you’d go to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City or Singapore

For anything complex, the realistic options are Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore.

• Bangkok has the big private hospitals covered in my healthcare and insurance guide. Royal Phnom Penh and Royal Angkor belong to the same BDMS group as Bangkok Hospital. The land border with Thailand is closed, Smartraveller says, so getting to Bangkok means flying.
• Ho Chi Minh City is the nearest big medical city. FV Hospital there has held JCI accreditation four times in a row since 2016, and has had a representative office in Phnom Penh since 2006, a useful first contact if you want to be seen there.
• Singapore is usually the most expensive of the three. Check your policy covers it before you count on it.

Planned treatment is simple: you book, fly, and pay or get your insurer’s approval first. Emergencies are different.

How medical evacuation works

If you’re too sick to fly normally, the evacuation is organised by your insurer’s assistance company, not by you:

1. You’re stabilised at the nearest hospital.
2. You or your family call the insurer’s 24-hour assistance number.
3. The assistance team decides, with the treating hospital, whether you need to move, where to, and how: on a commercial flight with a medical escort, or by air ambulance.
4. It arranges the aircraft, permits and a bed at the receiving hospital, then hands you over.

Two things catch people out. Insurers usually pay to move you to the nearest suitable facility, which may be Bangkok rather than home. And it isn’t instant: in a long-distance case Singapore General Hospital described in 2026, arranging the aircraft and permits took more than a week. Smartraveller warns that evacuation can be very expensive, and the Australian Government won’t pay for it.

Medicines and pharmacies

Smartraveller warns that local pharmacies may sell fake medication and that it can be hard to tell real from fake. The UK Government adds that some medicines, including major brands, may not be available in Cambodia.

• Bring a supply of your regular medicines in their original packaging, with your prescription and a doctor’s letter listing the names, doses and that they’re for personal use.
• Check controlled medicines before you fly. Some medicines prescribed at home can be illegal in Cambodia, and the UK Government says you need a permit to bring in anything containing psychotropic or narcotic substances. If you take strong painkillers, or some sleeping or anxiety medicines, ask the Cambodian embassy first.
• For ongoing supplies, get prescriptions through one of the hospitals and buy from a hospital or clinic pharmacy rather than a street-front shop. It’s the simplest way to cut the risk of fakes.

Dental care

Routine dental care is easy to find in Phnom Penh. The UK list names European Dental Clinic, Pachem Dental and Roomchang Dental Hospital, and the Australian Embassy’s list adds a Pachem branch in Siem Reap.

For bigger work, such as implants or several crowns:

• get a written treatment plan and quote before anything starts
• ask what warranty applies, and what happens if something fails after you’ve left
• check your insurance, because routine dental is often excluded or capped low

Health risks to plan for

• Dengue. Smartraveller lists it as widespread. The WHO says the mosquitoes that spread it bite during the day and there’s no specific treatment. It advises paracetamol for pain, and says to avoid ibuprofen and aspirin because they raise the risk of bleeding. If you take aspirin or a blood thinner every day, ask your GP now what to do if you catch it.
• Roads. Smartraveller says road travel is dangerous, especially at night outside the cities, and that serious road injuries happen every day, with motorcycles among the worst. Helmets are compulsory. If you live in Kampot, don’t do the Phnom Penh run after dark. Motorcycling is also a common insurance exclusion, so check yours.
• Rabies. Smartraveller says rabies is fatal without quick treatment, so get medical help straight away after any animal bite or scratch. Institut Pasteur du Cambodge runs a rabies centre at No. 5 Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh, and Smartraveller says larger facilities in expat areas often have the vaccine.
• Heat. It’s hot all year. Smartraveller notes heat can make some medicines less effective, so store them somewhere cool, and ask your GP whether any of yours need adjusting for the climate.
• Other insect-borne disease. Smartraveller lists Japanese encephalitis and chikungunya as widespread, and malaria as common in some regions, especially mountainous border areas.

For vaccinations, the UK Government suggests checking the advice at least eight weeks before you go. See your GP or a travel doctor, tell them you’re moving rather than holidaying, and ask specifically about rabies and Japanese encephalitis.

What to ask an insurer about Cambodia

Smartraveller’s rule for travellers is that insurance must cover all medical costs overseas, including evacuation. Most travel policies are built for trips with a return date, so if you’re living in Cambodia you need an international health policy that covers you as a resident. My healthcare and insurance guide covers premiums and underwriting in general. For Cambodia, ask these:

• Evacuation. Is it included, with what limit, and to where? Is it only to the nearest suitable facility, or can you choose? Does it pay to get you home afterwards?
• Area of cover. Does it include Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore? A Cambodia-only policy won’t pay for the Bangkok hospital you’re likely to end up in for anything serious.
• Direct billing. Which Phnom Penh and Siem Reap hospitals does the insurer bill directly? Ask the hospital the same question. If there’s none near you, plan on paying first and claiming.
• Age limits. Some insurers won’t take new customers past a set age. APRIL International’s long-term plan, for example, stops at 70 for new customers, according to its own page. Ask too whether the insurer can refuse to renew you as you get older.
• Pre-existing conditions. On that same APRIL plan, new customers under 65 get moratorium underwriting, which excludes anything you’ve had symptoms, treatment or advice for in the past two years unless you buy an add-on. Other insurers do it differently, so ask each one.
• Exclusions. Motorcycling, dental and mental health are the usual ones.

Cambodian insurers sell health cover too, and the UK Government’s living-in-Cambodia page names four. If you look at a local policy, check whether it pays for treatment outside Cambodia and for evacuation, because that’s where the big bills are.

If you’re still deciding where in Cambodia to live, retiring in Cambodia covers visas and costs, and living in Kampot looks at the town that’s likely my next base. To see how Cambodia’s healthcare compares with the other three countries, read retiring in South East Asia.