Our services

Pre-school children

• with significant developmental delay in two or more domains.
• OR in social communication skills with significant impact on functioning.
• following assessment by members of the health visiting team, nursery nurse, speech and language therapist, or other paediatrician and with appropriate descriptive information detailing the areas of delay. 
• ASQ (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) scores alone will not be accepted. 
• We would also advise that alongside referral to our service referrals to other appropriate services such as Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Ophthalmology are made as required.  

Complex Medical Needs and Disabilities

Children requiring specialist medical input for: 

• Complex neurological conditions with significant developmental delay requiring multidisciplinary input.
• Genetic conditions affecting development including Down’s syndrome.
• Severe learning disability.
• Possible Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
• Chronic disability requiring medical coordination with education and therapy services.  

Regression of development with loss of skills – please include detailed description of concerns  

Movement disorders

Children with suspected or confirmed:

• Cerebral Palsy or Neuromuscular Disorders – motor difficulties, abnormal tone, or involuntary movements other than tics.
• Please note this does not include Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Difficulties – DCD) for which there is separate pathway that is led by the Occupational Therapy team – see below).  
• Developmental Coordination Difficulties – referrals only to be made by Occupational Therapy following the DCD pathway.  

Sensory impairment including aetiology of moderate to severe sensori-neural hearing loss, vision impairment not including refractory errors or squint (please note this does not include sensory processing difficulties).  

We can accept referrals to see and assess significant tics that impacting on function for the purposes of assessment/identification and reassurance as well as advice but are unable to provide management in the form of medication or access to psychological intervention. If medication is required onward referral will be considered. Young people experience Gender Dysphoria with a purpose of onward referral to the National CYP Gender Referral Support Service.

Community Paediatricians also have:

• Statutory responsibilities for Special Educational Needs assessments (EHCP) for children who meet the referral criteria.
• Statutory responsibilities for Child Protection, Children in Care and adoption - Children in Care Team (Previously known as Looked After Children Team)
• Statutory responsibilities around the investigation of Child death.

We have a statutory (legal) duty to tell the local education authority about any preschool children who are likely to need extra help in school. To do this we send a referral form to the Local Education Authority via the Early Years Inclusion Service.

More information about this can be found in the Worcestershire Local Offer. We always ask for parents’ or guardians’ permission before this referral is completed and for this discussion to take place.