New specialist service for children with complex needs

Children and young people with complex health needs in the Rochdale borough will now be cared for by a new specialist community-based team, following the launch of the Community Paediatric Service.

The service, which is provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, is responsible for the care and treatment of local children and young people who:

• Have a diagnosed complex health need, for example autism, dyspraxia, epilepsy and cerebral palsy 
• Have an undiagnosed learning difficulty that requires ongoing support 
• Have special educational needs and attend a special school
• Who are ‘Looked After’ (i.e. in the care of the Local Authority), or about to be adopted or fostered. 

Children and young people will receive care from a range of health professionals, including paediatric consultants, specialist doctors, nurses, a specialist health visitor, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.

While the core team is based at Rochdale’s Croft Shifa Health Centre, care will be provided in a variety of locations including health centres, clinics and educational settings.

The team will work closely with colleagues from other agencies to provide integrated care wherever possible.

Paula Flint, Pennine Care’s Operational Lead for the Rochdale borough, said: “As a Trust, we are committed to ensuring children and young people receive a high quality and cost effective service, which meets their needs and ensures they experience the very best care.

“We have a proven track record of delivering this, demonstrated through the wide range of successful community and mental health services we are responsible for, across six boroughs. This includes the community paediatrics service in Oldham, which is playing a key role in the development of the service in Rochdale.

“The new service will link closely with a wide range of health services provided by Pennine Care such as the children’s community nurses and the school health team.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with the community paediatric team, in partnership with other health professionals and local people to look at what improvements can be made over the coming weeks and months.”

Dr Nitin Panwar, Consultant Community Paediatrician, said: “I’m pleased to have joined Pennine Care, which I know is committed to driving the service from strength to strength and we will be looking at what improvements can be made.”

Children and young people must be referred to the Community Paediatric Service and currently this is generally done by a GP, a community-based health professional, such as a health visitor or school nurse or a social worker. Following this, the team assesses the child’s or young person’s needs and arranges an appropriate package of care.