Paediatric Referral Services
Advice and Guidance Via Choose and Book
The Paediatric Department have been successfully operating the Advice and Guidance Service available within Choose and Book system for the last 12 months. We would both welcome and encourage the use of this service in order to respond to your patient queries in a prompt and effective manner.
There is a dedicated Consultant Paediatrician who is rostered on a daily basis and who is responsible for reviewing any new requests electronically which may be forwarded by our GP colleagues. The implementation of a robust roster ensures that this advice is consistently available and is not delayed due to periods of leave by the Consultant team. It is our aim to respond to any patient queries within 72 hours in order that the management and care pathways for our young population is optimised.
Urgent / Rapid Access Clinics
Due to the increasing requirement for early / urgent new patient appointments, we have responded to this demand by establishing urgent assessment clinics which have been in operation as from April 2013. Clinics are offered at both Sandwell and City site locations, taking place within Priory Ground Ward at Sandwell Hospital and on the Paediatric Assessment Unit at City Hospital.
There are dedicated appointment slots scheduled on a Monday to Friday basis across each site. Referrals will be triaged as per the normal referral process and if clinically indicated, will be allocated to these clinics should patients require to be assessed within a 2-3 week timeframe. We endeavour to make telephone contact with all parents/carers to negotiate appointment date and time to both optimise attendance and reinforce the importance of early review.
