Children and Young Peoples Outpatients (Children’s Centre)

The Children’s Centre is our Children’s and Young People’s (CYP) Outpatient’s Department.

Working hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays).

The Children’s Centre is home to a variety of health professionals and the centre provides a range of paediatric clinics and services.

Services held in outpatients

Outpatient consultant clinics
Our paediatric consultants hold regular outpatient clinics in the children’s centre and see CYP with a wide range of health conditions and complaints. If your CYP has been referred to an outpatient clinic, they will receive an appointment for either a face-to-face or virtual appointment. Other teams within the hospital also hold clinics here for CYP such as ENT, audiology, orthopaedics, orthoptics and dermatology.

We also hold regular clinics for visiting consultants from other hospital trusts.

Children’s therapies services
The children’s therapy service consists of paediatric occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and dietitians who are all registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Other staff include therapy assistants and an admin team. Clinics are held regularly in the Children’s Centre.

SALT (Speech and Language Therapy) and CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) are provided by Dorset Healthcare, but they also run clinics from the Children’s Centre.

Paediatric Blood Clinic
The Paediatric Outpatient Blood Clinic is held in the treatment room and runs Monday to Friday, 1.30pm to 5pm. We offer an appointment only service, providing blood taking service for CYP 0-17yrs. Referral to this clinic can be made by the GP, consultant or other health professionals.

Local anaesthetics are available if required – Cold spray (Ethyl Chloride) is preferable, however LMX cream is available depending on clinical/behavioural need.

Distraction therapy is also available from our Play Team if required, including the use of a VR headset if felt appropriate.

Community children’s nurses and specialist nurses
We have a range of specialist nurses and a team of community children’s nurses who are based in the Children’s Centre and see CYP in outpatient clinics.

You may have an appointment with the community children’s nurses, paediatric respiratory nurse, paediatric epilepsy nurses, paediatric diabetes nurses, or the paediatric allergy nurse.

Arriving for you appointment

Please check-in with our friendly reception staff on arrival and take a seat.

When attending an appointment, usually the nursing staff will weigh and measure your child (children under two years old will need to have their clothes/nappy off for this). Occasionally the doctor may ask the nurse to do your child’s blood pressure, oxygen saturation and/or urine sample.

There are times when the clinic may run late, we will keep you informed and give you the opportunity to leave the department for a coffee/walk if there is a long wait.

Parking

Parking is available outside the Children’s Centre or within the main hospital carpark multi-story. Take a ticket on entry and payment can be made at the machines on return to the carpark before leaving your appointment. Blue badge parking available and this is free – just scan the QR code on the back of your blue badge as you exit the carpark.

Feedback and complaints

We really welcome your feedback, if you have any compliments or complaints, please speak to the nurse in charge or please complete our patient related experience survey: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/dchft/paediatric-specialist-and-community-nurses-questionnaire

Contact numbers

We hope that you have found this information useful. If you have any questions or are worried about anything, please speak to the following Dorset County Hospital staff:

Children’s Centre reception: 01305 254739

About this leaflet

Author: Juliet Lyus, Paediatric Allergy Nurse Specialist
Written: January 2025
Approved: February 2025
Review date: February 2028            

If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk