Referral to Fellow in Community Child Health

Please read carefully for referral guidelines and key information below:

The Paediatric Fellow you are referring to:

• Is an Advanced Trainee in Paediatrics
• Receives off-site supervision by a Consultant Paediatrician
• Is employed through Monash Children’s Hospital
• Works in various community sites, usually for 6-12 months
• Will aim to contact referrers to communicate their findings and recommendations

Referrals:

• Should be made to access medical assessment for children in areas of need in the community (eg. sleep, behaviour, learning, development).
• Should not be urgent in nature (e.g. rapid weight loss); in rare circumstances, an urgent referral may be considered if you have contacted the Paediatric Fellow directly already and discussed it with them.
• Referrals must be made by authorised referrers. Health clinicians and educational staff (allied health clinicians, teachers, school nurses, and maternal child health nurses) are authorised referrers.
• Referrals made by non-authorised referrers will not be accepted, and appointments made by non-authorised referrers will be rejected.
• GPs are encouraged to make referrals directly to local outpatient services, rather than to this Paediatric Fellow clinic
• Referrals directly from parents/guardians will not be accepted.

Clinic model:

• The model of the clinic is to review children one to four times to:
  • determine the nature of the problem,
  • structure management and
  • refer on to other paediatric services for longer term support as needed.
• There is no cost to families. They do not require Medicare, citizenship etc.
• There is no role for long term follow up through this clinic. If a long-term Paediatrician will be required, please ask the family to find one through their GP whilst waiting for the Fellow to review.

How to make a referral:

Step 1 – Consent. Explain the model of the Paediatric Fellow Clinic to the child’s family and ensure they are happy to be seen by our Paediatric Fellow.

Step 2 – Check availability. You can see if the Paediatric Fellow has an appointment available by clicking https://calendly.com/monashcommunitypaeds. If no appointments are available, the Paediatric Fellow clinic is already full. No wait list is kept. Please refer your patient to another service as appropriate (eg. GP, community services, local outpatients).

Step 3 – Complete online referral. Please fill in the online referral form (accessed by clicking on the blue button, ‘I have read and understood the above’, below). Give as much information as possible. Be sure to include your contact details and the family’s contact details. You will receive an email confirmation, that contains a ‘booking number’.

Step 4 – Activate referral by making an appointment in Calendly. You will need the ‘booking number’ in the confirmation email to make an appointment time that suits the family. Ensure the family is aware of the details of the appointment. Remember, if there is no appointment available in Calendly, you will need to refer to another service, and your referral will not be processed.

Step 5 – Book an interpreter, if needed.