The Monash Children’s Cystic Fibrosis (CF) service began in 1993 and now provides care for over 100 children living with CF from newborn diagnosis to transition to adult care.
Phone: (03) 9594 2915
Email: monashcf@monashhealth.org
The team are available to be contacted from Monday to Friday, 8am – 4:30pm.
We are currently receiving a high volume of enquiries regarding Trikafta. This video featuring A/Prof David Armstrong, Dr Chris Daley and Dr Rob Roseby provides a wealth of information and may answer some of your questions – click here to watch the video.
The Monash Health Cystic Fibrosis Service was established in 1993, initially caring only for children, with the expansion of an adult service in 1999. Monash Cystic Fibrosis now provides lifetime care for over 200 adults and children with cystic fibrosis.
Monash Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Multidisciplinary Team
The Monash Children’s Cystic Fibrosis multidisciplinary team is made up of six respiratory consultants (doctors), two Cystic Fibrosis nurse coordinators, two physiotherapists, two dietitians, one social worker, one clinical psychologist and a team of rotating administrative staff.
Doctors
At the Monash Children’s Hospital, we have a team of doctors who work together to give your child the best care. You will be assigned to one doctor to oversee your child’s care in the specialist consulting clinic. However you may see other doctors on the ward if admitted. Led by Associate Professor David Armstrong, the team of doctors includes:
Nurse Coordinators
The Cystic Fibrosis coordinators will be your main point of contact during business hours. They are nurses that work with all Cystic Fibrosis patients to liaise with the rest of the team and ensure your child is receiving the best care. They can facilitate education, elective admissions and scripts and are the best first port of call for any Cystic Fibrosis related questions.
Our paediatric Cystic Fibrosis nurse coordinators are Sarah Sheedy and Kate Johnson (KJ).
Physiotherapists
Our physiotherapists can teach you a range of airway clearance techniques to help keep your child’s lungs healthy. They can also help with teaching correct inhaler and nebuliser techniques, assessing exercise tolerance, prescribing exercise programs and assessing and treating musculoskeletal, incontinence and sinus problems. Your child can see a physiotherapist during clinic appointments and once to twice daily during a stay in hospital.
Our Cystic Fibrosis team physiotherapists are Shelley Bowen and Lauren Tomkins.
During a hospital admission, your child may also be seen by other specialist paediatric physiotherapists who have been trained by the team to work with people with Cystic Fibrosis.
Dietitians
A team of dietitians will work with you and your child to manage your child’s nutrition. They will track your weight and will adjust meal plans, pancreatic enzymes and nutritional supplements accordingly. They will also provide education about specialist nutritional needs in CF such as:
Our dietitians are Caitlin Miles and Hannah Vass.
Social Worker
You will meet a social worker who will get to know you and your child. They will be able to help you and your child overcome challenges you may face due to Cystic Fibrosis. These may include navigating the health care system, improving emotional and psychological wellbeing, linking into practical support networks as well as accessing financial assistance.
Our social worker is Naomi Erlich.
Clinical Psychologist
Clinical psychologists practice in the area of assessment and treatment of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Our clinical psychologist is Dr Hawran Baldey. Hawran works one day per week. She works with both adults and children with Cystic Fibrosis and their families during admissions as well as time limited, short-term cognitive behaviour therapy for paediatric outpatients.
Hawran’s availability is limited, and as such, an important part of her role is also to support patients in finding mental health services and support in the community.
Nursing Staff
You will meet many nursing staff throughout your care within Monash Children’s. The nurses on the wards are there to help make you and your child’s time a little easier whilst in hospital. They will communicate with the doctors and allied health team while your child is an inpatient and attend to medications and observations.
Pharmacist
The pharmacist will help you understand the new medications that your child requires. They will be able to provide equipment such as syringes or cups to make medication administration easier. They will also help you navigate the assistance available from the government for the cost of medications and explain the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS).
Administrative staff
Our administrative team will usually answer the phone, book and reschedule your clinic appointments and manage general administrative tasks for the team.
You and your child
You and your child are the most valued member of your healthcare team. You know your child and his or her symptoms best and your opinions are highly valued. We will help to create family-centered treatment plans that will assist your family to achieve the best health outcomes for your child.
Your Cystic Fibrosis team would like to ensure that you receive the most efficient service from our centre as possible. Here are some guidelines on how our centre operates.
What the Cystic Fibrosis Outpatient Service can do for you
Outpatient Clinics
Review in clinic is the best way to address any issues that may arise. The Cystic Fibrosis clinic at Monash Children’s has appointments on Tuesday mornings at either 8:45am or 10:45am.
Please note that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some out-patient appointments can be conducted via telehealth, rather than face to face. As the pandemic and the COVID vaccination program develops, we aim to provide the mix of telehealth and face to face consultations that best suit our CF families. Please contact our CF nurse coordinators if you wish to discuss further.
If your child needs an additional appointment outside of your routine clinic review, you can see your child’s Cystic Fibrosis doctor at Monash Lung and Sleep in Monash Medical Centre during one of their general respiratory clinics, however, there is no multidisciplinary team input for these appointments.
Please contact the Cystic Fibrosis nurse coordinators on 9594 2915 if you need to book an extra medical appointment for your child.
Your first visit to hospital can be a smoother experience if you plan in advance and know something about what to expect. Here is some helpful information and advice from our team:
Monash Children’s Hospital at Home provides acute hospital care in the comfort of your own home or other suitable environment, as an alternative to staying in a hospital bed. Generally, the setting for care is your usual home or school environment, or an outpatient clinic room at Monash Children’s Hospital.
The care is provided through nursing and physiotherapy staff from the Monash Children’s at Home team and your usual Cystic Fibrosis doctor. Nursing staff and a physiotherapist can visit your child at home or in the community once a day. Your child will be reviewed by your Cystic Fibrosis doctor in clinic weekly or more often if required. Support is available by phone 24 hours a day.
Services offered by Monash Children’s Hospital at Home
People with Cystic Fibrosis will most often use Monash Children’s Hospital at Home for Intravenous (IV) antibiotics to treat chest infections. Other services provided by Monash Children’s Hospital at Home are:
Eligibility criteria
Please discuss with your Cystic Fibrosis doctor if you are interested in using Monash Children’s Hospital at Home for all or part of your child’s admission. The earlier the team is informed, the sooner you will be able to access the service.
Physiotherapy at Monash Children’s Hospital at Home
Intensive physiotherapy support is available at home or in the community in certain circumstances when specific physiotherapy goals have been identified. The aims of a physiotherapy-only Monash Children’s Hospital at Home referral can be to avoid an inpatient admission or to provide additional support and or education following an inpatient admission.
As children with Cystic Fibrosis become adults, medical care transitions from paediatric Cystic Fibrosis physicians to adult physicians.
Paediatric services at Monash Health care for children from birth to age 19; adult services cover the age group from 19 onwards.
At Monash Health, we view transition as a period of change that happens over a long time, from before starting secondary school to adulthood. We seek to support young people through this period of change until their mid-20s and beyond.
Please speak to your CF care team if you have any questions about the transition process.
For more information about the Adult Cystic Fibrosis service at Monash Health, please click here.
Concessions and benefits
Visit the Cystic Fibrosis Community Care website for more information.
For a range of clinical information relating to CF, please visit the CF Resources page on the Monash Health website.
For information specific to children with CF, please see below.
Newly diagnosed
School
Nutrition
Airway Clearance, Exercise, Musculoskeletal
Procedural Anxiety
Other resources