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A new seven day a week children’s nursing team has been created in North East Lincolnshire to help children, including those with long term health conditions, stay out of hospital. Many children with chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, spend a lot of time in hospital which can be distressing for them and their families. However, many health problems, while serious, can be treated successfully at home if parents or carers have the right level of support and advice.

The new Children’s Community Nursing Team has been created by North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) with Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust to provide both generalised nursing care as well as more specialist nursing support for children who are living with conditions such as chronic constipation, gastroenteritis, bronchiolitis, asthma and epilepsy and eczema.

The service is available to patients under 16 years old and patients with complex needs up to 18 years old (e.g. patients with special educational needs). The service will be there to support families from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, including Bank Holidays and will work closely with the award-winning Paediatric Assessment Unit at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital. Families will be referred directly to the service by their GP or by clinicians treating them in hospital.

“All parents want the very best for their children but sometimes need additional support when a child has health problems that are long standing or that can't be easily resolved,” explained Dr Marcia Pathak. “Hospital stays will always be unavoidable at times but this exciting new project will enable many more children to remain at home, in their familiar surroundings, while they still get the most appropriate treatment and care.”

Amanda Jackson, Head of Children’s Nursing / Assistant General Manager at the hospital, said: “This will really empower children, families and their carers to become the experts in their children’s health and support children themselves to learn about and live well with what may be a long term or even life-long condition.” 

The Children’s Community Nursing Team will also be running blood taking clinics at two local GP Practices which will help families avoid visits to hospital outpatients if they are told their child needs a blood test. In most cases, families will be able to ask their own GP for a referral to either the Raj Medical Centre or Roxton Medical Centre (Immingham) for the test.