Community Paediatrics

Paediatricians are doctors who look after babies, children and young people. In community paediatrics, we are a team of doctors who look after children and young people who have developmental difficulties and disability. There are also some advanced practitioners who are not doctors who are working with us too. We work closely with other people who look after children including GPs, hospital doctors, health visitors, school nurses, psychologists nurses and therapists such as physiotherapy, speech and language or occupational therapy. We also work together with lots of other people who work with children like teachers and social workers. This helps is assess children and understand their needs and how to support children and their families.

Some of our paediatricians work in the care experienced team (link here to that part of the website) who support children and their health needs who need to live away from their family permanently.

All of our doctors also work in child protection service (link to that part of website here). We work with other people supporting children to support anyone who may have been abused or neglected. We might see children for medical assessment in the Acorn Suite (link to that part of website).

We take a rights-based approach to all areas of our work and operate within the Scottish Government’s ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’ (GIRFEC) framework which is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Visit the Neurodiversity page for information on supports and services available within NHS Lothian and the wider community, along with practical advice and links to help you take your next steps with confidence.

What does a community paediatrician do?

We assess children and young people where a concern has been raised about their development – usually in more than one area. We might see pre-school children at a clinic together with other professionals such as a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist or a physiotherapist

For children under 7years, we also assess if there are differences in communication, social interaction and behaviour and it is possible he or she could have a neurodevelopmental condition such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The initial assessment is likely to take place in a local clinic at one of the community health centres. For children older than 7, where it is possible that they could have a neurodevelopmental condition, referral is made to CAMHS and we work closely with our colleague in this service.
We arrange medical assessments for children and young people who are care experienced or in the process of being welcomed into a new permanent home (known as permanency, and formerly as adoption). These assessments are to help put any medical care or other support in place where it’s needed.( link to that part of website)
We assess children who might have a suspected problem with their vision or sight, also known as a visual impairment. We work together with specialised eye doctors (Orthoptists) and Visual Impairment teachers.
We work together with colleagues in Audiology and other specialists to help children and young people with hearing impairment..
We work with children, young people and their families attending special schools. We might attend meetings or reviews in school.
Sometimes we might be asked to assess children where there is a concern about abuse or neglect. Find out more about Child Protection.

Information for professionals

We accept referrals from health professionals, as well as those working in education and social work for children and young people living in the NHS Lothian area. We do not accept self-referrals from families. We accept referrals from birth until 18 years old (for those in full time education). We are very happy to receive referrals directly from schools and nurseries if the primary concerns have been noticed in this setting. For referrals made by other professionals, providing information from school or nursery in the referral or enclosing other documents like a Child’s plan is helpful.

Review is based on the needs of the child and their underlying condition. Regular review for children and young people with stable neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder is not often needed. These children will be discharged after their assessment is complete with ongoing review of any support put in place usually provided through education and the named person.

Teams can be contacted on the following numbers:

Edinburgh (Royal Hospital for Children and Young People) 0131 3120505
East and Midlothian (Musselburgh Primary Care Centre) 0131 4464123
West Lothian (St John’s Hospital) 01506 524403

Meetings, assessments and clinics can take place at a range of venues across the NHS Lothian area.

Clinics and appointments

We aim to see children and young people closer to home, rather than asking them to always travel to hospital. Clinics can take place in hospitals, community hubs and GP practices. Appointments may also be by phone or Near Me video consultation.

In the community paediatric team, we are often joined by fully qualified doctors who are doing specialist paediatric or general practice training. Your first appointment may be with one of these doctors who will be supervised by a consultant in the local team.

The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People is also a teaching hospital for the University of Edinburgh and other universities and colleges in the NHS Lothian area. This means that you and your child may meet medical and nursing students . Everyone will introduce themselves to you at your appointment.

Clinic locations:

Our team

Our team covers all areas of NHS Lothian. Each child or young person will be under the care of one of the local teams, based on their home address, or school (if they are school age). Many of the doctors also work in specialist teams including the communication clinic, special schools, audiology and visual function service as well as local clinics.

West Lothian