If you have any queries about your child’s appointment or cannot attend for any reason, please contact Arrowe Park Hospital on 0151 604 7039.
(Ring any time Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm. However, the departments are not open at weekends or on bank holidays)

The philosophy of the Children’s Outpatient’s Department is that all children and their families will be greeted in a calm, friendly and professional manner.

We recognise each child as a unique developing individual whose best interest is our main concern. We will endeavour to understand their perspective, opinions and feelings and acknowledge their right to privacy.

Throughout your visit, we will aim to give you all the information, support and reassurance you require.

A new patient to the service will be given a longer appointment to enable the paediatrician to go through relevant health history and discuss symptoms with the parent/carer. There are toys for the children to play with in the waiting room, however, if your child has a favourite toy or book or music with headphones or something that will help to distract them throughout the appointment, please bring that to clinic with them.

If you have any relevant documentation from school or other professionals you think may help the paediatrician to assess your child, please bring them along to the appointment. Also if you prefer to write a brief summary of your child’s behaviour or routines or anything you think will be relevant for the doctor to know. It may be something sensitive you do not want your child to overhear or maybe you could ask the clinic nurse if you could see the doctor on their own for a few minutes.

We believe in providing family centred care with you and your child at the heart of the service provision. We are fully committed to providing the highest quality of care for our patients.

What to Expect on Arrival

1. On arrival to the department a clerk or clinic nurse will check your child’s personal details with you. Their address, up to date phone numbers, next of kin and GP. If there are any changes they will make the necessary amendments in the child’s case notes & on the computer system.

2. All children are weighed and measured when they arrive at the department by the clinic nurse. We use electronic digital scales that give the weight in kilograms and in pounds. Children under 2 years of age are weighed naked and measured on a kiddimetre, which is a table top board. Children over 2 years of age only need to remove their shoes & heavy clothing such as coats.

3. We would not insist on weighing the child or the young person if it caused them any distress. If we cannot weigh them, we may ask you to get on the scales holding your child if possible; we can then record a combined weight of you both together. Then we would ask if we could weigh you separately & deduct your weight from the total. This would give an approximate weight of your child. It will be noted in your child’s case notes that they were “weighed with parent/carer”.
Your child’s weight & height will be written in their case notes and plotted on a growth chart and also in their red book (if available) ready for the doctor to see.

4. If required urine samples are collected & tested. The results will be recorded in your child’s case notes prior to them seeing the doctor.

5. If your child is on medication for e.g. ADHD medication, their blood pressure will need to be recorded at each clinic appointment. We do this using an electronic machine.

6. After the first clinic appointment the subsequent or follow up appointments will be shorter.

We hope to make you and your child’s visit as pleasant as possible.

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