Key transitions in healthcare

This page will guide you through the key transitions in healthcare. 

Useful services for healthcare

Children services

The Community services include a variety of highly specialist, experienced and knowledgeable professionals working from early years to 19. All services work in partnership with each other.

Therapists

There are Speech and Language, Occupational and Physiotherapists available from early years to 19 years.

Medical

The Paediatric medical team, mostly community Paediatric consultants and staff will look after the majority of children and young people with SEND who have long term medical needs up to the age of 19. They will support and coordinate transition to either Primary Care and/or relevant adult services. Gateshead Health also provides a 0-4 Autism Diagnostic Clinic.

Role of GPs

The General Practitioner should know the family well but not necessarily the details of the work of the consultants working with the child.

Children and Young Peoples' Service

A single service to all children and young people aged 5-18 living in Gateshead who present with mental health difficulties and/or who may be living in difficult and challenging circumstances. Staff work closely with the transition and moving on strategies. The Active Transition coordinator may attend all transition meetings on the 'My Moving On Plan'.

Growing Healthy 0-19 Gateshead

Healthy Child Programme service is an integrated service for families, expectant mothers and children and young people to improve public health outcomes. This includes:

• 0-5 Service - The role of the 0-5 service is to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of children under five and their families.
• 5-19 Service - This team promotes and protects the health and wellbeing of children and young people aged 5 to 19 and up to the age of 25 with any child with additional needs.
• Continuing Health Care - NHS continuing healthcare is the name given to a package of care arranged and funded solely by the NHS for a person aged 18 or over. It's designed to support people who have ongoing healthcare needs, outside of hospital care. This might be the result of disability, accident or illness

Things to think about as a family/carer

• There is a significant difference between children's and adult health services so be sure to ask in good time how you can access services that you currently receive.
• Is your GP fully involved with the services you access? Quite often they are not - ensure they are aware, particularly on transition.
• Those young people with a diagnosis of a Learning Disability can access health checks from their GP from 14 years.
• Ensure that the right health professionals are involved in transition meetings and/or send a detailed report.
• Think about preparing your child for visiting the health professionals - some children and young people find the environment challenging.
• It will be important that all the professionals understand the term 'only tell me once' so that families do not have to tell their story repeatedly.
• Understand the routes to get a diagnosis.
• Ensure that you attend appointments as some services take you off the list if there is not a valid reason for your non-attendance.
• Your Health Practitioner may be able to help you navigate these services - the key is the move from children to adult services. You will need to ask any provider Post-16/19 about access to some of these services particularly therapists who may not support Post-19 or have to be bought in by the provider or setting.