Our clinics

Paediatric Rheumatology Clinic

This clinic is a one-stop shop for younger children where they see multiple team members during one visit.

Fridays from 9.00am - please check your appointment time
Children's Outpatients, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

Adolescent Clinic

This clinic offers teenage patients the opportunity to see us without a parent/carer present for the initial part of the consultation. This may be for five minutes once they know us, and increase as the young person and parent/carer feel more confident about the process.

Tuesdays from 3.00pm - please check your appointment time
Children's Outpatients, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

We encourage you to attend without your parent/carer if you feel comfortable - a nurse can stay with you if you wish. Your parent/carer is welcome to join you later during the consultation if they would like to discuss anything or ask questions. You will also have the opportunity to discuss moving on to adult care.

Other clinics

We hold several other clinics, including:

• Non-inflammatory Clinic
• Chronic Pain Clinic
• Outreach Clinics in other centres.

We link in with other specialties for specialty clinics, which run on other days of the week.

Please check your appointment details for the time and location of the clinic, as they may not all be on the same site.

Clinic staff

We do our best to offer a one-stop clinic with access to a variety of professionals on the same day.

The Paediatric Rheumatology Team is caring for your child, and your child will have ongoing clinic appointments at which they may see some or all the following people.

• Consultant (doctor)
• Physiotherapist ('physio')
• Occupational Therapist (OT)
• Ophthalmologist (eye doctor)
  
• Psychologist
  
• Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
• Health Play Specialist

They may need to come for a follow-up appointment with different members of the team.

At your appointment

Please wear shorts and a vest or T-shirt, as we generally examine all joints. During cold weather you can wear your shorts under your warmer clothing.

Please bring:

• current medicines (or a complete list including doses)
• blood monitoring card
• symptom diary
• contact details of other healthcare professionals involved in your care (if relevant)
• a list of any questions you wish to ask
• a drink and a snack, as you may be in clinic for the whole morning or afternoon.

When you arrive, please check in at Reception. Before you see the doctor we will measure your / your child's height and weight. We may also take a blood pressure (BP) reading and ask for a urine sample. If you have any concerns, please let us know.

The doctor will take a history and examine your / your child's joints. Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) will also see a Rheumatologist and an Ophthalmologist. If we advise tests or procedures, we may in some instances be able to do these the same day.

If you need to see other members of our team, you may be with us for several hours. Please let us know if you are unable to stay so we can rearrange appointments for another time:

Tel: 01865 737872

Email: paediatricrheumatology@ouh.nhs.uk

Forms / questionnaires

Each time you attend the Rheumatology Clinic we may ask you to complete a variety of forms / questionnaires.

Paediatric Rheumatology and Adolescent Clinic Preparation Form

Please complete this on arrival and write down any questions you have.

Give it to the Consultant at the start of your consultation, so they can write a summary / plan on the form at the end of the appointment.

Child Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ)

We ask how you have been in the previous seven days. This helps us monitor your progress and your response to medication over time. We also ask which activities your child can and can't do.

Please ask for help if anything is unclear, and if a question is not applicable to your child due to their age, mark it as such.

If your child finds certain activities difficult, ask to see the Occupational Therapist about this.

Ready Steady Go Plan

We start planning the move from children's to adults' services when children are 11-12 years old.

We help children become more independent by:

• teaching them about their condition, treatment and side-effects
• building their confidence to see professionals on their own
• gradually giving them responsibility for their own medication / injections.

Adolescents tend to have better success with taking medications regularly, and managing their own health, if they have a good understanding of their condition.

Parents and carers play a very important role in this process.

Waiting times

The time of your appointment/s may not exactly match the time/s on your appointment letters.

Unfortunately, there will sometimes be unavoidable delays in clinic. Please ask to speak to a member of the team if this is difficult and you need to discuss any specific requirements.

If you would like to visit the coffee shop while you are waiting, please let us know that you are going.

Shops and other facilities - Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

Missed appointments

We will remind you of appointments via email, letter or telephone call - please respond to these as soon as possible.

We have a duty of care to your child, and while we understand that you may sometimes need to cancel at short notice, our Policy requires us to note all cancellations within 24 hours as 'Was not brought' and to notify your GP.

If parents / guardians do not bring children / young people to clinics, and do not respond when we contact them, we take this very seriously - the impact on their child's health could be very detrimental.

If a child misses three hospital appointments we have to escalate this to their local Social Care team. This Policy covers all appointments, including regular blood monitoring.