Treatment centres and services
Resources
The following hospitals, health centres and services are the local sites where your child is most likely to be diagnosed or treated.
- Trevor Mann Unit
- Seaside View Child Development Centre
- Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children
- Chailey Heritage Clinical Services
- PRESENS (Pre-School Special Educational Needs Service)
- Educational psychology
- CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Trevor Mann Unit
Parents often know before their babies are born that they are likely to have some sort of disability, although it isn't always clear how severe it will be. It's a time for lots of questions: 'What treatment is there?' 'Will the baby need surgery?' 'Is it life-threatening?' 'Where can I find out more?' Many of these questions can be answered by the consultant who can talk you through what is likely to happen. Some parents are referred for extra tests to Guy's or King's College Hospital in London that specialise in, amongst other things, detailed ultrasound scans.
Sometimes our babies started life on the Trevor Mann Unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. They have a counsellor attached to the unit, who is there if you need help in adjusting to the fact that this baby isn't the one you expected or hoped for. Staff at the unit can offer you advice and support.
Seaside View Child Development Centre
Many children will be diagnosed or assessed at the Seaside View Child Development Centre located at the Brighton General Hospital site. Seaside View is the integrated child development centre for children living locally. If you are beginning to worry that your child is not developing normally and would benefit from an assessment at the centre, you need to ask another professional for a referral. This could be, for example, your GP, pre-school teacher, educational psychologist, health visitor, school nurse or a consultant at the Royal Alex or the Trevor Mann Baby Unit.
Many different specialists are based at Seaside View, including paediatricians, social workers, health visitors, clinical psychologists, speech, occupational and physiotherapists. They work together to assess children both individually and through group work, and then plan a programme of therapy and treatment. Some children may be seen at a local child health clinic instead of at Seaside View. For pre-schoolers, an assessment may also take place jointly with staff at Seaside View and the Pre-school Special Educational Needs Service (PRESENS).
Seaside View leaflet (.pdf - 1055kb)
Date: 17 April 2009
Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children
The Alex, as many people call it, is the local children's hospital where many children are diagnosed as having certain medical/clinical conditions. The consultants at the hospital have their own specialist areas, for instance in the treatment of asthma, diabetes and epilepsy, but will hold joint clinics alongside visiting specialists from hospitals such as Guy's and Great Ormond Street, to get a clearer picture of your child's needs and to plan a programme of treatment. Occasionally, your child might be referred to a hospital outside this area which specialises in your child's condition.
The Alex moved in 2007 from Dyke Road to a new building on the site of the Royal Sussex County Hospital. The hospital provides inpatient and outpatient services, including intensive care and a 24 hour emergency care service. The Alex has leaflets for parents about what to expect if your child has an appointment or a stay in the hospital.
Chailey Heritage Clinical Services
Parents who have children with complex physical or neurological disabilities are often referred to Chailey Heritage, near Lewes. Chailey Heritage is made up of two organisations: one is part of South Downs Health (NHS) Trust; the other is Chailey Heritage School. Chailey Heritage Clinical Services (SDH) offers a range of services for children and young people. These include medical, clinical and therapy services, flexible care (overnight and outreach), day care and rehabilitation engineering. Chailey is a highly specialised centre and will only assess children whose needs are complex enough and can't be met elsewhere.
In the Rehabilitation Engineering Unit, clinical engineers and technicians adapt or make equipment to help with mobility and communication. Another team of people work on postural management. Their role is to design and adapt equipment so that children can sit, lie or stand to the best of their ability. Chailey also has its own system of communication which can help some children who do not have any speech at all.
Chailey Heritage Clinical Services has a nursery where small numbers of children with complex needs mix with children without disabilities and all the activities are shared. They are referred by NHS consultants. A whole team of specialists, physio, occupational and speech therapists, paediatricians, nursery nurses and nursing staff work at what treatment will be best for each child. Children usually attend two or three days a week.
Chailey Heritage School offers education on a residential or day basis and they have a pre-school unit for young children with complex needs. Assessment and treatment continue at the school, but only for children who have educational statements that name Chailey as the most suitable school.
PRESENS (Pre-School Special Educational Needs Service)
PRESENS is an education service run by the Children and Young People's Trust (CYPT) and it's based at the Jeanne Saunders Centre in Hove. If you and the professionals involved feel that your pre-school child's level of special need is significant, they will be referred to PRESENS. You can contact PRESENS directly yourself although most referrals come through a paediatrician, health visitor or other specialist or your child's pre-school. A worker from the team will visit you at home so you can discuss your child's educational needs.
PRESENS offers a range of services, including home-teaching and outreach support and advice to nurseries and playgroups. They may also offer assessment and more specialist approaches to teaching through small groups based at the Jeanne Saunders Centre and Easthill Park. For more information about PRESENS read the section on Education.
Educational psychology
Educational psychology services are part of the CYPT area teams. In each team there are educational psychologists who can support parents and their children up to the age of 19. If your child's difficulties are first picked up at school or pre-school they may be referred to see an educational psychologist (EP). If your child is already known to other professionals, they may also make a referral. EPs will assess your child's developmental progress and will give advice on appropriate educational help. They will normally be able to give you a clear idea of your child's difficulties and in some cases will also refer on to other professionals for further assessment.
CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Some children with mainly emotional and behavioural problems may be referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for diagnosis and assessment. This includes many children with conditions like Autism or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as issues like anxiety and depression. CAMHS have a team who specialise in children's mental health including child psychiatrists, family therapists, counsellors, play and art therapists. If you think your child needs to go to CAMHS, it's often easiest for you to speak to your GP first and ask for a referral to either a community mental health worker or CAMHS. You could also be referred by another professional such as a school nurse or teacher. It is possible for you to contact CAMHS directly but, if you do so, they'll be looking to see if you've tried other less specialist services first, such as the school nurse or your GP.