Information for Parents and Carers of Children with - Dundee City ...

What do Paediatricians do?
THE ROLE OF THE PAEDIATRICIAN
Paediatricians are doctors with expertise in the health and development of children. A
paediatrician may be involved in the assessment, diagnosis and follow up of children who
have problems with their health or development.
A paediatrician works closely with other members of the child development team such as
speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and the voluntary
sector e.g. Parent to Parent.
Any member of the child development team may make referrals to other services for
example health visitors, school health nurses, child psychology and psychiatry, community
learning disability nurses, hospital specialists, social workers, preschool home visiting
teachers and voluntary services. Parents are always informed if a referral is being made.
Paediatricians may share their clinic letters about a child’s health and development with
other professionals such as nursery and school teachers. This is done with consent of the
parents in order to provide appropriate support for the child.
Some paediatricians have special training and therefore see children with particular types of
difficulty, for example learning difficulties, physical difficulties, visual impairment, hearing
impairment, autism, children with social problems, child protection concerns or “looked after”
children. Some children with developmental problems may not need to see a paediatrician
regularly, other children with significant medical needs may have regular appointments with
a paediatrician.
Where are children seen?
Children may be seen in clinics at Ninewells Hospital and at Armitstead Child Development
Centre. Clinics are also held at Kings Park Special School and Francis Wright Nursery.
Children who are referred to psychiatry and psychology services may be seen at the Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Service at Dudhope Terrace, Dundee.
Armitstead Child Development Centre is based at the Kings Cross Hospital site. Kings Cross
is also the site for the respite facility at Glenlaw for children with complex disability and the
site for the Paediatric Audiology department and for Seymour Lodge. This is the co-located
multi-agency child protection service for Dundee with health, police and social work.
Paediatricians; who are they?
Community based paediatric services in Dundee are provided by doctors working in teams
as follows:
• Neurodevelopmental Services Dundee lead Dr Elise Merry, Dr Katherine Lawlor, Dr
Graeme Adamson, Dr Patricia Gallagher
• Complex Disability Team lead Dr Karen Naismith, Dr Ann Scott
• Social Paediatric Team/ Looked After Children lead Dr Susan Dewar, Dr Fagerson
• Audiology Team lead Dr Ann McKinnon, Dr Stones)
• Child Protection Team lead Dr Joy Mires
• Visual Impairment Team lead Dr Margot Campbell
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