Healthcare Professionals
You may notice that our list of 'Who's Who' in the health service is rather long. There are, in fact, many other health workers apart from those we've listed. Parents are often shocked at just how many people can be involved in treating their children. Someone we know counted 22 appointments in two months! It's important to remember, however, that specialists tend to concentrate on just one 'bit' of your child. This doesn't mean they're not interested in your child as a whole person, but the fact is that parents are the people who know the most about their own children.
Who's who in health
Audiologist: Associate specialist in hearing problems.
Audiometrician: Member of school health team who visits schools and assists in audiology clinics to check childrens' hearing, carry out hearing tests and review children with hearing problems.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS): a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, therapists and others who specialise in helping children with mental health issues. You can be referred by your GP or another professional (such as a teacher), but you can also contact CAMHS direct via the following numbers:
County - 0300 300 0022
Bassetlaw - 01777 274422
Nottingham City - 0115 9155500
Children's Community Nursing Team: works from Retford Hospital, providing direct nursing care and support to parents and children with continuing nursing needs or those that rely on technical support to remain at home. The team acts as a link between hospital and community services in an attempt to enable children to remain at home as much as possible – this may include organisation of equipment. The team are only able to receive referrals with the consent of the child's designated consultant.
Clinical Child Psychologists: diagnose, assess and treat emotional and behavioural problems and may offer counselling for families in difficulty.
Community Dentists: Sometimes children with special needs are referred to a community dental clinic, where the dentists have additional skills in treating them. They may also make home visits when appropriate.
Community Mental Health Workers: offer a community based service to help children with emotional or mental health issues. Can work with children and families at home or in school. In Nottingham City these work under the Health In Mind Service based at New Brook House which is just a short walk from the city centre on Alfreton Road. In The county this is covered by Primary Care Mental Health Liaison Teams and are based at Kingsmill Hospital (covering Ashfield), The Dukeries Business Centre, Worksop (Covering Bassetlaw) and Northgate, Newark (covering Newark and Sherwood). In all cases referral would be through your GP. Community MH Workers will refer on to specialist CAMHS if they think this is more appropriate for your child.
Community Paediatrician/Community Child Health Doctors: work at Health Centres, Children’s (Child Development) Centres or in schools. They may also make home visits. Your GP or health visitor can refer you or you could arrange to see your community paediatrician through your child’s school.
Community Services Pharmacist: usually employed by a NHS Trust or Health Authority. Has responsibility for ensuring that pharmacy services are provided to community healthcare units. He or she plays an important role in liaising between various agencies that provide care.
Consultants: doctors who have specialist qualifications in a particular area of medicine or surgery.
Consultant Community Paediatricians: doctors that have a special interest in developmental and learning difficulties and co-ordinate the care of children with these problems.
Consultant in Rehabilitative Medicine: a specialist with knowledge in artificial limbs, specialist seating, wheelchairs and environmental control systems.
General Practitioners (GPs): family doctors. If you haven't got one, or want to change, you can contact the Health Authority, or have a look at the 'Local Doctor Book' which lists all local GPs, their specialist interests and details of the practice itself, such as access for disabled people. The directory is available in libraries and at the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB).
Health Visitors: mainly concerned with children under five. They should also keep in touch with parents of older children with special needs, but you may have to ask specially for this. They make development checks on all children at various stages and so can be the first to spot a problem which needs referring to a specialist. They often know about local services, support groups and benefits, and can support applications for rehousing, adaptations to your home, respite care, and so on. (See entry for Paediatric Liaison and Specialist Health Visitor)
Occupational Therapists (OTs): help children develop everyday skills, such as feeding themselves, getting dressed and playing. They will assess and treat children at home, at school or Children’s (Child Development) Centres, offering practical advice, treatment and/or special equipment. Community Occupational Therapists are employed by social services and they carry out assessments for families who need equipment and adaptations at home. They won't be the same OTs you meet through the Health Service.
Opticians: If there are reasons why it's difficult to take your child to the opticians, you can ask any optician for a home visit. Glasses for children are no longer free, but there is a voucher scheme to help toward the cost: ask the optician for details. Selected frames and lenses are free using the voucher.
Orthotist: is qualified to design and fit 'orthosis' (surgical appliances such as braces, callipers, footwear, etc.). Orthotics is therefore the service that deals with the support and bracing of weak joints or muscles.
Paediatric Liaison Health Visitors: Health Visitors who are children's nurse-trained and have specialist knowledge of children's conditions. They can supply the community health visitors with detailed information relating to your child's condition.
Paediatricians: are doctors who have specialist qualifications in all aspects of children's health and development.
Physiotherapists: aim to help with children's movement skills and physical mobility. Through activities and sometimes equipment, the development of key milestones, i.e. rolling over, sitting, balancing, standing and walking, are encouraged.
Psychiatrists: doctors with specialist qualifications in diagnosing and treating people with mental health problems. There are also Child Psychiatrists whose expertise is working with children and young people.
School Nurses: work in both special and mainstream schools alongside the school doctor, and are responsible for routine health checks. The school nurse may be involved in the medical assessment of children at mainstream school and will be involved in the health care of children at special schools where they are on hand to offer advice to staff and parents.
Specialist Health Visitors for children with special needs: They are available to support families and offer information about and liaise with local services. Referrals can be made to this service by both parents and professionals.
Speech and Language Therapists: can diagnose and treat problems of understanding, communicating and speaking and can also help with swallowing and eating difficulties. Speech and Language Therapy can play an important role in diagnosis and assessment, and in the educational statementing process.
Personal Child Health Record or 'The Red Book'
Don't forget to use your child's own 'Personal Child Health Record' (sometimes referred to as the 'Red Book'). All contacts with health professionals (both in hospital and community health services) should be recorded in this, and it helps if you take it around to appointments with you so that you have a full record of who is involved with your child. You can also make notes in it about key episodes in your child's health. You can get extra pages for your disabled child, from the health visitor.
Referrals
Your GP or health visitor is usually the person to ask if you think your child would benefit from seeing a specialist health professional. Occasionally you can be referred by another professional such as a social worker or an educational psychologist. If they are reluctant to refer you, it may be worth your while making a direct approach yourself. Many of the specialists listed do accept self-referrals, or may at least provide helpful suggestions over the telephone. If you have to wait a long time for an appointment and things get worse, go back to your GP and ask him or her to try to bring your appointment forward.