Paediatric medicine

What is paediatric medicine?

Paediatric medicine is the branch of medicine focused on diagnosing and treating medical conditions in children and young people. It covers everything from a single visit for a passing illness through to long-term conditions needing ongoing specialist care.

What conditions does paediatric medicine cover?

Paediatric medicine covers a wide range of conditions affecting children, including:

• digestive and liver conditions, such as coeliac disease
• breathing and lung conditions, including asthma and allergies
• cancer and blood conditions
• diabetes and other hormone-related conditions
• infections and problems affecting the immune system.

For the most complex cases, many hospitals arrange periodic clinics involving specialists visiting from dedicated children's centres, meaning a child can often be seen closer to home rather than needing to travel.

What are the benefits of paediatric medicine?

Children have different physical and developmental needs from adults, and paediatric medicine is built around this. Diagnosis, treatment and the way staff communicate are all shaped by a child's age and understanding, rather than simply adapting adult care.

Having teams with specific paediatric training means conditions can be picked up and managed by people who understand how children's bodies grow, respond to treatment, and describe how they're feeling.

Are there different areas within paediatric medicine?

There are a few key areas:

• general paediatrics, usually the initial point of contact for a child with a medical problem
• gastroenterology, covering digestive and liver conditions
• respiratory and allergy services, covering asthma, allergies and other breathing conditions, including support for children needing breathing help at home
• diabetes and endocrinology, providing ongoing monitoring and care for children with hormone-related conditions
• oncology and haematology, providing cancer and blood condition care, often working alongside specialist regional centres.

Paediatric medicine also covers fields such as neurology, infectious disease and rheumatology, among others, each staffed by teams with training specific to treating children.

What happens before a paediatric medicine appointment?

Children are usually seen after a referral from their GP, or after a visit to a children's emergency department. Many hospitals have a dedicated assessment area for this purpose, where a child is checked over by the paediatric team before a decision is made about what happens next.

What happens during a paediatric medicine assessment?

1. A child is assessed, often in a dedicated children’s assessment area, by nursing and medical staff trained in paediatric care
2. If further tests are needed, these take place in a specialist paediatric setting equipped for the purpose
3. Depending on what’s found, a child may be discharged, given an outpatient follow-up appointment, or admitted to a children’s ward for continued care.

Paediatric teams include a wide range of professionals beyond doctors and nurses, including play specialists, physiotherapists, dietitians, occupational therapists and pharmacists, all contributing to a child's care.

What does the hospital stay and follow-up involve?

Children needing a longer stay are cared for on dedicated children's wards. Parents are usually encouraged to stay overnight if needed, and play specialists are often on hand to help children feel more at ease, particularly around tests or procedures.

For ongoing conditions such as diabetes, children are usually reviewed on a regular basis, often every few months, with the team keeping in touch between appointments to check how things are going.

What should I do if I’m worried about my child between appointments?

Paediatric teams usually aren't able to give clinical guidance by telephone outside of scheduled appointments. If you're worried about your child, contact your GP, call NHS 111, or, in an emergency, take them to your nearest children's emergency department.