Community paediatric services for Sutton and Merton

The community paediatric department is based at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children.

It provides a range of paediatric services across Sutton and Merton. These include: 

• safeguarding and protecting children;

• services for children with disabilities and complex health needs;

• services for looked after children;

• services to support special educational needs.

Consultant clinics accept referrals of children with complex problems including neuro-developmental problems and communication disorders.

The community paediatric department aims to provide services as close to the child's home as possible. There are close links with local authorities, education services and social service departments to ensure that children with special needs receive as much help as possible to reach their full potential.

Referral criteria for the service

Children must be registered with a Merton or Sutton GP.

Referrals are accepted from:

• Sutton and Merton GPs;

• HV, health therapists, school health sisters with GP consent ;

• other medical consultants (e.g. CAMHS) for medical assessment;

• statutory assessments from local education authority and social services.

Age of children:

• 0-16 years; 

• There may be exceptions up to 18 years of age in special circumstances, often for statutory requests. These should be discussed in advance with the department.

Children with one or more of the following problems:

Developmental problems:

• developmental concern in pre-school children (under five years old);

• neurodisability;

• motor delay/clumsiness/coordination problems. associated learning problems are managed by education;

• social communication problems in pre-school children (under five years old);

• speech and language problems if speech and language therapist is concerned and requests paediatric input (must be accompanied by a health visitor’s developmental assessment and a detailed speech and language therapist's report).

Educational problems: statutory special educational needs assessments.

Social services:

• child protection (referrals should come from social services);

• statutory looked after children / adoption work.

Making a referral

If you would like to make a referral it would help us if you could complete this form.

Providing sufficient information at this time can help a timely assessment. Please enclose all relevant reports that are available, e.g. speech and language therapy, previous paediatric assessments, educational reports, social work assessments, CAF forms.

Please note that referrals are not appropriate for community paediatric clinic appointments:

1. concerns about hearing should be referred directly to the audiology clinic;

2. enuresis - refer to the nurse led enuresis clinic (after medical review by GP and exclusion of physical problem);

3. emotional and behaviour problems are not managed by community paediatrics;

4. specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) are an educational issue;

5. autism or asperger’s queried in a child over five years old should be referred to CAMHS;

6. learning difficulties in school age children should be assessed by the school SENCO and/or educational psychologists.

Please phone 020 8296 4852 to discuss a referral if there are doubts about suitability.