Children's Health

As a parent, your child’s health is one of your most important concerns. There are many different issues that can impact on a child’s health. These can include concerns about their urgent or ongoing physical health, development or preventing future health problems. General Practitioners frequently see children of all ages and are experienced in dealing with many of these issues. All children that we see in our practice under the age of 16 are bulk-billed

Advice and management of specific health concerns

The GPs see a lot of children in our practice. If you have any specific concerns about your child’s health, a GP is a great place to start. No matter how minor your concern may be, we are happy to provide advice.

Developmental Checks

All children are different, and as such will often develop in different areas at a different pace. However, there are some general benchmarks that the majority of children will reach at a certain age.
Areas of development that are often assessed include communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social and emotional skills. If you are uncertain whether your child is developing appropriately, then bring them in for assessment. If your GP determines that they do have a developmental delay then they can advise you on the best treatment.

Immunisations

Immunisations are very important in preventing your child from developing potentially serious and life-threatening infections. We provide all the routine recommended immunisations as per the National Immunisation Schedule. If you have any questions or concerns about immunisation, especially with regards to safety or effectiveness, please discuss these with your GP (often, the internet is not a reliable source for this information). If you are uncertain if your child has missed any immunisation or is up to date, please notify reception prior to booking an appointment to discuss this.

We also offer some immunisations that are not on the routine schedule but can also prevent life-threatening illnesses such as meningococcal disease. Please make an appointment with your GP to discuss whether this is suitable for your child.
Please notify the receptionist if are bringing your child in for immunisations – they will require a booking with the nurse and also an appointment with the doctor if it is your childs first visit to the Blackwood Clinic.

Minor emergencies

We may be able to assist with some minor childhood emergencies depending on the age of the child and the nature of the emergency. If you are uncertain about the seriousness of the emergency, and especially if your child is unresponsive, call 000 so they can get to hospital as urgently as possible.