Child and Family Health at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick

High-quality care in the community is essential. The majority of children's health needs, including preventative services, early intervention and treatment can be addressed outside hospital settings. We specialise in delivering this.

Our work addresses three key themes:

1. Healthy beginnings, including early child development, health and wellbeing, disability and developmental-behavioural disorders
2. Optimising the life chances for children from Priority Populations, including Aboriginal & refugee children and those with child protection concerns
3. Transforming health systems, including enhancing integrated care, using Arts in Health, and developing equity-focused care pathways.

Our vision is to improve the health, wellbeing and development of all children.

Are you looking for our Early Childhood clinics?

Child and Family East (CAFÉ)

Child and Family East offer assessment and therapeutic interventions for a wide range of difficulties encountered by infant, pre-school and school-aged children and their families (children aged 0 – 12 years).

We are a multidisciplinary team comprising child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and social workers. CAFÉ also offers supervised placements to mental health professionals.

Parents and carers of children who live in the Northern part of South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (Botany, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra council, and parts of the City of Sydney council areas) are welcome to make a direct referral.

We see children with:

• Behavioural difficulties
• Anxiety and depression
• Emotional disturbance
• Attention and concentration difficulties
• Social skills difficulties
• Mood and self-esteem concerns
• Neuropsychiatric disorders
• Family changes, illness, loss, death or trauma, and difficulties with parent-child, sibling and family relationships

Interventions may include:

• Intake and referral information
• Counselling
• Parent education
• Individual and family therapy
• Group programs
• Medication therapy
• Consultation to pre-schools, schools and other community agencies
• Consultation and liaison service to Sydney Children’s Hospital

Referral information

A parent or guardian is required to make the referral via phone. You don't need a General Practitioner [GP] referral.

If you are a referring doctor, allied health professional, school personnel, or other professional please contact CAFÉ to discuss the referral. A child can only be seen with the consent of a parent/ legal guardian.

Referrals can be made by contacting the Intake Worker on:

• (02) 9382 8213, Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5.00pm
• Calls received outside these hours will be recorded on an answering service.

Location

CAFÉ is located at the Sydney Children’s Community Health Centre, Building 20, Corner of Avoca and Barker Streets, Randwick. It is on the corner of the hospital campus opposite Randwick Girls High School. There is limited onsite parking on Barker St. Local offsite parking is also available on surrounding streets.

La Perouse Paediatric Clinic

Paediatric clinics based at the La Perouse Community Health Centre (a collaboration between Sydney Children's Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, and the Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney/Sydney Eye Hospital, and the Aboriginal Medical Service at Redfern) provides a culturally appropriate referral and drop-in centre for the local Aboriginal community.

Patients will be seen for general medical, developmental, learning difficulties, behavioural and adolescent health issues.

The Aboriginal Child Health Clinic offers comprehensive paediatric assessments together with our Aboriginal Social Worker, Child and Family Nurse, Aboriginal Health Workers and Speech Pathologists.

We run monthly case conferences attended by medical, allied health and involved staff to ensure children and carers with multiple needs receive appropriate support.

We have strong interdisciplinary partnerships with other health services, non-government agencies, schools and early childhood education services that work within the community.

CATCH (Child & Teen Community Health) Clinic

This clinic is for vulnerable populations who find accessing health services difficult and may not be able to access private paediatricians.

This includes children of parents with a mental illness, follow up of children in out-of-home-care (OOHC), assessment of vulnerable adolescents including those that are homeless, Aboriginal children and young people who cannot or do not want to access other available service provided by CCH, and infants that the Child and Family Nurses (CFHN) are concerned about.

We focus on a comprehensive medical, developmental, behavioural and psychosocial assessment of children and young people.

General Behaviour Clinic - ADHD

This clinic is for primary and high school students with learning, inattention and impulsivity difficulties.

We provide an assessment clinic and medical management of children with ADHD symptoms that impact learning, behaviour and general wellbeing.

We assess and support other comorbidities that might overlap with the symptoms of ADHD.

Psychology behavioural support is needed for external services and cannot be provided from this clinic currently. We work alongside behavioural interventional services like Child and Family East (CAFÉ) and provided support for multiagency (including school) case conferences.

Referral information

The clinic is for children within the local area and a GP referral is needed.

Support for complex behaviour that is being managed by a private paediatrician is also offered and requires a referral from the Paediatrician direct to a Staff Specialist.

Please contact the CCH Fellow on 9382 8074 or email us for further information and referrals requests relating to the Refugee, Aboriginal or General Paediatric clinics. Referrals can be sent by post or email.

Developmental Services 

Tumbatin Clinic is the developmental diagnosis and assessment unit of the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick and is located in the Sydney Children's Community Health Centre. The clinic works within a multidisciplinary team framework and includes Paediatricians, social workers and clinical psychologists.

The clinic provides assessment and diagnosis for children with suspected delays or disorders in development.

The clinic also provides counselling, advice, information and support for families and children who have a developmental delay/disorder.

Referral information

If the referral is related to a developmental issue then the referral would need to be made directly to Tumbatin. All referrals go through an intake process prior to being accepted and require a GP referral if the child is in the local area.

Developmental clinic

A consultation and assessment services for preschool children, referred because of concerns about their developmental progress, is available. Physical health and overall development of skills or specific areas of development, such as language, fine motor (drawing, puzzles), gross motor (running, jumping, ball skills), social skills and behaviour, is assessed.

The services are confidential and are available to children and their families who reside in the area (La Perouse through to inner Eastern Sydney) with parental knowledge and permission. Parents, family, doctors, school teachers, school counsellors, welfare workers, early childhood nurses, other health workers or agencies can make referrals.

The department also has a behavioural clinic for school-aged children, where there are concerns around behaviour and learning.

Aboriginal health clinics

Paediatric clinics are provided at the La Perouse Community Health Centre (a collaboration between Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, Prince of Wales Hospital, the Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney/Sydney Eye Hospital, and the Aboriginal Medical Service at Redfern). Children will be seen for general medical, developmental, learning difficulties, behavioural and adolescent health issues.

The La Perouse Health Centre also delivers an Aboriginal Parent Program which aims to improve Aboriginal children's health and parents’ educational opportunities and social connectedness. Health screening of preschool Aboriginal children at Gujaga Childcare centre is also provided.

These clinics offers a range of free services for new parents, including home visits, blue book checks and drop-in clinics.

• Monday: Visits by appointment only
• Tuesday: Drop-in 10am – 1pm at La Perouse Clinic
• Wednesday: Drop-in 11am – 1pm at Malabar Clinic
• Thursday: Paediatric Clinic and Ngala Nanga Mai Parent Program at La Perouse

All Child and Family Health Services provided by Child and Family Health Nurse,  Amy and Aboriginal Health Officer, Lola.

• Amy: 0434 322 241 (Monday - Thursday)
• Lola: 0410 455 032 (Monday - Friday)

See also Aboriginal health services at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick 

Refugee health clinic

A dedicated refugee child health clinic provides a multi-disciplinary assessment for newly arrived refugee children and families.

We provide comprehensive health assessment on arrival, full immunisation of children within 12 months of arrival and coordinated ongoing health care to refugee children and their families.

Specialists at Sydney Children's Hospital and the Wollongong Hospital provide support for general practitioners. The team reviews all the children's pathology results and GPs are assisted in management or referral, as required, with the support of a clinical guideline and regular training.

Referral from General Practitioners, Paediatricians or refugee services is required. Paediatricians at Sydney Children’s Community Health Centre can be contacted for advice as required.

See also Refugee Health at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick.

External support services

• Australian Breastfeeding Association Provides support, education and advice for mothers to enable and continue breastfeeding.
• Raising Children Network Provides information for parents to help with day-to-day situations of raising children, from pregnancy to teenagers.
• Karitane Works with parents and children from birth to five years of age to provide advice, antenatal support, services to alleviate parental depression and anxiety, and initiatives for managing toddler behaviour and other issues.
• Tresillian Offers guidance to parents in the early stages of their child’s life in areas such as settling a baby, post-natal depression, nutrition and breastfeeding.
• Families NSW A NSW Government initiative to help enhance the health and wellbeing of children up to 8 years and their families.
• I've Been There A useful website for young parents to find out more about pregnancy and parenting, as well as some of the mental health problems that are common during this period.
• Resourcing Parents Provides education and practical information for parents and carers of children aged 0-18 years and includes a Parenting Education calendar detailing upcoming events and programs.