Caring for children with long-term conditions

Our patients might come to us for treatment, an operation or a check up, they might stay in hospital with us, just come in for a few hours or see us at home, school or another hospital or health centre.

We know coming into hospital or seeing doctors can be scary, but we all work hard to make sure that every patient feels comfortable and that the whole hospital experience is as un-scary as possible.

• The Paediatric Diabetes Service on the Endocrine and Diabetes page
• The Cystic Fibrosis section on the Respiratory page

Transitioning from child to adult services

Transition is the process a young person will go through when preparing to move from children’s to adult services. The paediatrics team will work with you to make the transition as smooth as possible. The timing of transition will depend on the individual patient, but it is usually at some time between 16 and 18. We follow the ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ transition programme.

We know that moving to adult services can be a scary and daunting prospect, but we will be here to support you through the transition process, making sure you have all of the necessary information and preparation. You will be given a transition plan, that tells you the timing of key phases, how long we expect it to take and who to speak to if you have any questions as you’re moving through the process. We can arrange visits to see the new department and team to help you start to get to know the team there.