Introduction

The Directorate of Paediatrics and Child Health provides services to children from birth to 16 (school leaving age).  It has four branches, as follows: 

General Paediatrics

• Six general paediatricians and an Associate Specialist who provide a combination of Outpatient (visiting a doctor for a short appointment) and in patient (staying in hospital) services.  Paediatricians are doctors who have trained specifically in children’s medicine.  
• We have three children’s wards.  One is a baby ward that cares for children up to the age of two, one is a children’s ward that cares for children between two and sixteen years old and one is a ward that cares for all children who need to have surgery. (The age ranges attached to the wards may be altered for children with special needs.) 
• Specially trained children’s nurses, nursery nurses and health care assistants run the wards.  
• If a child needs to have further treatment at home, the children’s community nurses will visit them at home, and give treatment.  
• We have a Children’s Outpatient department.  This purpose built building provides a range of appointments for children including general medicine, surgery, genetics, orthopaedics, hearing, enuresis, neuro-physiology and cleft palate clinics.
• Neurodisability, we have two Consultants who specialise in providing diagnosis, treatment and support to families and children who have a complex disability.

Neo-Natal Unit

• The neonatal unit cares for new born babies who are too poorly to go home. The unit is right next to the maternity department, where babies are born. This means we can very quickly move babies who need special care straight after they are born 
• There is an intensive care area in the neo natal unit and it has six cots.  This area cares for very sick babies, who are often very small and can not breathe for themselves.

Community Paediatrics

• Some of our services are provided outside the hospital – in the community.  There are lots of different parts to the community paediatrics branch of the Directorate, including
  • Child Development Unit – providing assessments for children with disabilities.  The Unit looks after children with physical disabilities, and those with autism and communication disorders 
  • Vulnerable Children Service – provides assessments and treatments for children who are looked after by the local authority, or who are involved in the child protection system 
  • Audiology – providing hearing testing for children
  • Enuresis – help for children with bedwetting (referred through school nursing)
  • Children with Special Educational Needs
  • Specialist Immunisation Service

Child & Family Department

• A multi-disciplinary child and adolescent mental health service that provides a range of therapies and interventions for children up to the age of 16 with complex emotional, behavioural or mental health problems and their families. (There is a separate service for children aged 16 – 19). 
• There is also a team dedicated to Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties.  This team provides short and focused services to children in the community who are having some behavioural difficulties that are affecting their overall developments

Team Members

Clinical Director
Dr Geoff Lawson, Consultant Paediatrician

Directorate Manager
Joanna Clark

Matron
Pauline Palmer

Practice Development Nurse
Emma Leonard

Paediatric Consultants
Dr Darren Bresnen, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in gastroenterology and paediatric emergency medicine
Dr Katherine Eastham, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in respiratory medicine
Dr Karl Harvey, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in autism and developmental delay
Dr Neil Hopper, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in diabetes and endochrinology
Dr Karen Horridge, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in neurodisability and developmental delay
Dr Prashant Kumar, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in respiratory medicine and allergy
Dr Andrew Mellon, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in gastroenterology (also Director or Medical Education)
Dr Jaidev Devdas Mangalore, Locum Consultant Paediatrician

Paediatric Emergency Medicine
Dr Siri Gautam, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in Paediatric Emergency Medicine
Dr Myra Herbert, Consultant Paediatrician specialising in Paediatric Emergency Medicine

Neonatal Consultants
Dr Majd Abu Harb, Consultant Neonatologist
Dr Ruppa Geethanath, Consultant Neonatologist
Dr Lorna Gillespie, Consultant Neonatologist
Dr Sam Richmond, Consultant Neonatologist

Neonatal Unit
Pam Jack, Unit Manager

Ward Managers
F65 Joanne McKenna
F64 Richard Allsop
F63 Maria Lynn

Children’s Outpatient Department
Sharon Thompson-Binks, Sister

Community Nursing Team
Kim Coxall, asthma and allergies
Christine Hopkinson, Community Children’s Nurse - Cystic Fibrosis
Jill McDermott, Community Children’s Nurse – Palliative Care
Trish Maltby, Community Children’s Nurse – Endocrinology
Kate Potts, Gastroenterologist Specialist Nurse
Moira Linsley, Epilepsy Specialist Nurse
Chris Hagland, Diabetic Nurse Specialist
Lisa Wilson, Diabetic Nurse Specialist
Chris Clark, Paediatric Liaison Nurse

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team

Manager
Janet Baldacchino

Consultants
Mr Steve Coates
Dr James Dickens
Dr Ali Doubtfire
Dr Uma Geethanath
Dr Stephen Westgarth

ADHD Team

Manager 
Tom Crake, Specialist Nurse
Dr Elaine Martin, Associate Specialist

Community Paediatric Doctors
Dr Jan Welbury, Consultant Paediatrician (Looked After Children, vulnerable children)
Dr Mrs Sam Barwick, Consultant Paediatrician (Looked After Children, vulnerable children)
Dr Nini Ohn, Associate Specialist (Immunisation, allergies)
Dr Su Desai, Associate Specialist (Hearing, Contraception, Enuresis and Looked After Children)
Dr Teresa Kilgour, Associate Specialist (Looked After Children and Children’s Centres)
Dr Gemma Ward, Associate Specialist (Hearing and Looked After Children)
Dr Dilip Deshpande, Associate Specialist (Special Educational Needs)

Child Development Unit
Marilyn Lay, Unit Co-ordinator

Contact Paediatrics, Neonatology and Child Health

City Hospitals Sunderland
Paediatric Directorate
Kayll Road
Sunderland
SR4 7TP

Children’s Centre
Durham Road
Sunderland
SR3 4AF

Directions

• Sunderland Royal Hospital

The Children’s Outpatient Department is located next to the Kayll Road Entrance to the hospital

The Children’s Wards are located on F Floor in the main hospital block

The Neonatal Unit is located next to the Maternity Unit and is accessed through entrance D, Chester Wing

The Child and Family Department is located next to the Hylton Road entrance to the hospital

The Children’s Centre including Central Clinic and the Child Development Unit is located on Durham Road

Patient Leaflets:

• Bladder X Ray micturating cystogram MAR08
• CIRCUMCISION Mar08
• Cygnet Group Leaflet - Jul 07
• EGG AND MMR
• Insertion of grommets - Nov 2008
• MRSA
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Aug 2007
• PAAC leaflet
• Pain Control leaflet Mar08