Bedfordshire & Luton Community Paediatrics Services

The service provides assessment, advice, signposting, diagnosis and support for children and young people. 

How long is the wait to first appointment?

• Waiting times fluctuate based on a clinical priority system against set criteria. High risk medication
  reviews are prioritised.

• In April 2023 children on the waiting list have been waiting an average 28 weeks until their care
  pathway began.

• The care pathway will begin with the healthcare professional who is most suited to meeting the
  needs of the child at this time, this may be a support practitioner, specialist nurse, or a
  paediatrician.

• Please note: this timeframe is intended to give a guide on current service demand, we are not able
  to provide individualised expected wait times per person.

What is the cause of the delay?

• Increasing demand in referrals for children with complex needs; EHCP, Children in Care (CIC) and Initial Health assessments.

• An increase in accepted referrals.

• National and local shortage of Community Paediatricians

What is the service doing to help?

• New specialist nurses have been successfully recruited to improve the frequency of medication
  reviews.

• An early intervention team has been formed to support children and families. The team have coproduced an ‘Early Support Workshop’ with parent carer forums.

• The specialist nursing team are available by telephone or email daily to offer support and advice
  to families. They can be contacted via our Health HUB - available Monday to Friday. See details for how to contact below.

• Waiting time information has been added to letters and community resources including where to seek support locally.

• The Neurodiversity Diagnosis Support Pack and many other resources to support communication,
  continence and sensory challenges have been co-produced with parent carer forums and are
  available on our website - see details below.

• Families who have been waiting longer than anticipated have been contacted by our team to
  ensure support is offered.

• The service meets monthly with Parent Carer Forums to listen to feedback and share updates.
  Additional recovery funding has enabled over 1000 appointments between January and March
  2023.

• 'SEND Health focus week; a week of free, interesting and informative workshops and webinars, has
  been co-produced with Parent Carer Forums for the 9th - 16th June 2023. For more information and
  to book your place please visit here.

Where can I go for help in the meantime?

• Diagnosis Support Pack  For families following a diagnosis of a neurodiversity, and contains information, resources and signposting in a variety of media.

• Post Diagnosis Pack Resources Section Please see our online page, which includes details of local support services.

• Our workshops page has plenty of training you can access any time, for free.

• For advice and support call our Children's Community Health HUB on 0300 555 0606 or email ccs.bedsandlutonchildrenshealthhub@nhs.net - this is available from 9am - 5pm Mon –Fri.

For Bedfordshire, you can contact the CDC by emailing: ccs.beds.childrens.cdc.admin@nhs.net or contact Union Street by emailing: ccs.paediatricadminteam-unionstreet@nhs.net

For Luton, you can contact the Edwin Lobo Centre by emailing: edwinlobocomms.s1@nhs.net