General Paediatrics
Our General Paediatric service cares for children and young people with a wide range of conditions or concerns.
Our General Paediatric service cares for children and young people with a wide range of conditions or concerns. We see children and infants aged 6 weeks to age 16 years. We have a team of General Paediatric Consultants, paediatric nurses, and the wider multidisciplinary team. We liaise with GP’s, allied health care professionals and community teams. The team will listen to your concerns, arrange appropriate investigations if required, make a diagnosis, and develop a care plan with you and your child. The General Paediatrician provides holistic family-centered care.
Here in Beacon for Kids we a wide range of in house paediatric specialists who support us in the General Paediatric Service. If your child’s consultant feels an onward referral is required to one of our colleagues this will be facilitated.
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Conditions Treated
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Growth or Nutritional Concerns
- Your child may be referred to the General Paediatrician if there is concern about growth or nutritional needs. This may be identified by the public health nurse at their visit, the GP, or by you.
- At the clinic appointment, the General Paediatrician will assess your child’s growth by reviewing their height/length, weight and head measurement percentiles.
- Your consultant will ask you questions about your child’s past medical history, about your concerns, and about your child’s diet.
- The consultant may ask if there are any associated symptoms like refusing bottles, poor appetite, vomiting, change in bowel habits, or any abdominal pain.
- Your consultant will offer advice and recommend when they would like to see you and your child back for a review appointment.
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Recurrent Infections
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatrician if they experience infections frequently, infections that take longer to resolve or recurrent fevers.
- It can be normal for children to develop infections especially as their immune system is developing and as they start creche or school.
- The consultant will take a history and ask you lots of questions about the frequency and type of infections and how they have been treated. They may ask if your child recovers between infections.
- After discussing this with you and your child, the consultant may decide some further investigations are required; this may include some bloods tests.
- The consultant will identify if any treatment is required and communicate this to yourself and your child.
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Developmental Concerns
- Your child may be referred to the General Paediatrician if a public health nurse, GP, or yourself has any concerns about your child’s development.
- Children develop at different rates, but some children may experience a delay in areas like speech and language, social interaction or motor skills.
- During the assessment your consultant will ask you questions about your child’s past medical history; they may ask questions about how your child plays, about their communication skills and discuss any concerns you may have.
- Your consultant will examine your child, and they might observe them play.
- Your consultant will make a recommendation if any further assessments or inputs are required. This may be from the wider multi-disciplinary team, like speech and language, educational psychology, occupational therapy, or physiotherapy.
- Your consultant will advise you on when they would like to see you back for a follow-up visit.
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Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Childhood
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatrician if they experience abdominal pain.
- Most of the time, abdominal pain in children is not caused by a serious underlying condition.
- Your consultant will ask you and your child about when the pain first started, how often they experience the pain, does anything make the pain better and where abouts in the abdomen the pain is.
- Your consultant may ask if there are other associated symptoms like change in bowel habits, nausea, vomiting, pain when passing urine or change in appetite.
- Your consultant may ask if the abdominal pain is causing your child to stop daily activities, miss school, or if it affects their sleep.
- Your consultant will decide if further investigations are required, and they will explain this to you in the clinic.
- Your consultant will offer guidance on how to manage your child’s symptoms at home.
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Abnormal Head Shapes
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatritian if there is concern with your child’s head shape. This may have been identified by yourself, the public health nurse, or your GP.
- Your consultant will assess your child’s head circumference, length and weight and review their percentiles.
- Your consultant will take a detailed history and examine your child.
- Head shapes among infants can differ, especially when infants are developing and their skull bones are developing.
- Usually, head shape changes in infants are related to positioning and are not a concern.
- Your consultant will decide if any further investigations are necessary. They may suggest a referral to physiotherapy.
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Headaches
- Headaches in childhood can be common.
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatritian if they have persistent headaches or headaches that are affecting their daily activities or sleep.
- Headaches in children can be triggered by lack of sleep, dehydration, stress, or if they are unwell.
- Bringing a headache diary to your child’s appointment may help your child’s consultant identify any triggers.
- Your consultant will take a history; they may ask you and your child about when the headaches first started, how often and how long they last and in what area of their head they are feeling pain.
- Your consultant may ask if there are any associated symptoms such as dizzyiness, visual changes, nausea, or vomiting.
- Your consultant will decide if any investigations are required, and if they feel an investigation is required, they will explain this to you.
- Your consultant will offer advice on how you and your child can manage the headaches at home.
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Bedwetting and/or Soiling
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatrician if there are concerns about bedwetting or soiling.
- These concerns can be common in childhood.
- Bedwetting occurs at nighttime when your child may pass urine in their sleep after the age when children usually have bladder control.
- Soiling occurs when a child may pass stools outside of the time they are using the bathroom. Most of the time, this can occur when a child may be constipated.
- The consultant will obtain a detailed history; they will ask you and your child questions about their toileting habits, frequency and when accidents occur.
- The consultant may ask if there are any associated symptoms like abdominal pain or symptoms of constipation.
- Usually further investigations are not required, but your consultant will make this decision and offer advice and management on your child’s condition.
- Your consultant will recommend when they would like to see you back for a review appointment.
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Constipation and Loose Stools
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatritian if they have symptoms of Constipation or Loose stools.
- This can be common in childhood, but a change in bowel habits may require further evaluation from a General Paediatrician.
- Constipation can be noticed when stools are infrequent, hard, or difficult to pass. This may cause pain for your child.
- Loose stools can be noticed when stools are watery or looser compared to normal. This can be caused by infections, diet changes, or sometimes from an underlying condition.
- Your consultant will complete a detailed history and will ask you and your child some questions about their toileting habits.
- Your consultant may ask if there are any associated symptoms like abdominal pain, bloating, blood in the stool, or appetite changes.
- Your consultant may ask about fluid intake, diet, and toilet routine.
- Your consultant will decide if any further investigations are required.
- Your consultant will offer advice and a management plan and will recommend when they wish to see you and your child back in clinic for a follow-up appointment.
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Sleep Concerns
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatrician if there are concerns around their sleep.
- Sleep concerns in childhood can be a common concern.
- Some children may find it difficult to fall asleep or may wake up frequently at nighttime.
- Your consultant will take a detailed history; they ask questions about your child’s nighttime routine, how long it takes them to fall asleep, how often they wake up at night, and what time they wake up in the morning.
- Your consultant may ask if there are associated symptoms like daytime sleepiness or whether their tiredness is affecting their daily activities or school performance.
- Usually sleeping concerns improve with a good sleep routine; your consultant will offer advice and guidance.
- Your consultant will recommend when they would like to see you back for a follow-up visit.
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Urinary Tract Infections
- Your child may be referred to a General Paediatrician if there are concerns about recurring urinary tract infections.
- This infection occurs when bacteria infect a part of the urinary tract.
- Younger children may present symptoms of feeding, irritability, poor feeding, vomiting, or fever.
- Older children may present with pain when passing urine, needing to urinate more frequently, abdominal pain or fever.
- Your consultant will take a detailed history; they may ask questions about how often the infections are occurring, how often they last and what treatment has been done so far.
- Your consultant may ask questions about urinary and bowel habits.
- Your consultant will decide if any investigations are required; this may include completing a urine sample or being referred for a renal ultrasound. Your consultant will discuss this with you and your child at the appointment.
- Your consultant will offer a management plan and will recommend when they wish to see you back in clinic for a follow-up appointment.
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Skin Concerns
- Simple skin concerns can be reviewed in the General Paediatric Service.
- This can include, rashes not related to food, itchy or red skin, or skin infections.
- Your child’s consultant will take a history and examine your child’s skin, they will make a diagnosis and discuss treatment options with you.
- Bringing some photos to show your child’s consultant may help, especially if there skin condition changes.
