For Patients and Visitors
The outpatient paediatric service at Northern Health provides care for infants, children and adolescents from birth to 18 years of age.
We are a team of specialised doctors, nurses, and allied health practitioners for children who aim to work collaboratively with you and your GP.
What happens once I’m referred by my GP?
Once your child is referred to an outpatient clinic, the request is processed, and you will receive a letter confirming acceptance of the referral and either an appointment date or an approximate “planned” appointment date. Appointment times will be confirmed by mail if more than 10 days away, or via SMS if within 10 days. Outpatient services are provided face to face or via telehealth (video or telephone) appointments. If you have concerns about accessing the internet, please contact the Telehealth Hub phone ,8405 8774.
How long does it take from referral to see a paediatrician?
Once we receive a referral, it is ‘triaged’, which means that we see the most urgent or time-critical referrals first. Unfortunately, there is significant strain on paediatric outpatient clinic services across Victoria, which does mean long waiting times. If you are waiting for an appointment and become concerned about your child, please consult your GP or visit an emergency department.
Are there other options if I want my child to be seen sooner?
Discuss with your GP whether a Virtual Consult through the Victoria Virtual Specialist Consult (https://vvsc.org.au/) is suitable for your child. VVSC is a service run by Northern Health, but is separate to paediatric outpatients, and accessing it does not impact your child’s place in the waitlist for outpatient clinics.
Alternatively, there are a number of private paediatric options available, that do involve an out of pocket cost.
Where are paediatric outpatient clinics located?
Please check your appointment letter for the correct location. Clinics are held at:
- Northern Hospital Epping – 185 Cooper Street, Epping
- Craigieburn Centre – 274 Craigieburn Road West, Craigieburn
- Kilmore District Hospital – 1 Anderson Road, Kilmore
- Nexus Primary Health (outreach clinic) – 7/11 High Street, Wallan
- Wallan East Maternal and Child Health (outreach clinic) – 52 Newbridge Boulevard, Wallan East
What do I bring/need for my appointment?
Please bring:
- The referral letter (if not already provided)
- Relevant investigation results
- Your child’s infant health record (green book)
- Any previous letters from paediatricians, other specialists, or allied health professionals (e.g., audiology results)
- The most recent school report if there are concerns about learning or behaviour in a school-aged child
For telehealth appointments:
- Ensure you are in a quiet, private location at the time of the appointment
- Your child must be present for the consultation
How long will the appointment take?
Most appointments take between 20–60 minutes. Sometimes there may be delays if the clinic is busy or urgent cases need to be seen. We appreciate your patience.
What if I need an interpreter?
Interpreters are available free of charge. Please let your GP know before your appointment if you would like an interpreter, or call our administration staff ahead of the appointment on 8405 8335 and tell us your preferred language.
What happens if I need a repeat script (prescription)?
If your child needs a repeat prescription, please send an email to SpecialistClinics@nh.org.au. Please allow at least 2 weeks for the script to be arranged. In some cases, a doctor will need to see your child before arranging a script.
Scripts can only be arranged for patients previously seen at Northern Health outpatients. For repeats scripts prescribed by doctors outside of Northern Health, please see your GP or the prescribing doctor.
What happens if I need a form completed?
Please allow at least 2 weeks for forms to be completed. In some cases, a doctor will need to see your child before completing certain forms, and therefore, a review appointment will be required. Most forms can be completed by any medical practitioner including GPs.
What happens if there are shared care arrangements or court orders?
We understand that families come in all forms. Wherever possible, we aim to include all caregivers in your child’s care. Please let us know if there are any special arrangements or legal orders we should be aware of. Send these to SpecialistClinics@nh.org.au.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to organise double appointments with each caregiver. We can however, send clinic letters to more than one address or email if requested and legally permitted, or dial in the other caregivers during the consultation.
Please note that our administration team are not allowed to release information over the phone, and our clinicians will not be able to return urgent calls about appointment timing or access to records.
If you would like to request access to your child’s medical records, contact the Northern Health Freedom of Information Officer.
What if I need to change an appointment time?
If you are unable to attend or need to change an appointment, please contact us as soon as possible via the link Enquiries – Specialist Clinics.
Alternatively, you can contact Specialist Clinics by phone on (03) 8405 8335.
Clinic appointments are a highly valuable resource for the local community. Please note that unfortunately, if you do not attend multiple appointments without reasons, your child may be discharged from clinic, and require a new referral to be processed to be seen again.
How do I change my contact details?
Please note that contact details can only be changed by the parent/caregiver on the referral.
To do so:
- Advise clinic staff when you are here
- Contact us via the link Enquiries – Specialist Clinics
- Alternatively, you can contact Specialist Clinics by phone on (03) 8405 8335
For Health Professionals
Outpatient paediatric services are provided at:
- Northern Hospital Epping – 185 Cooper Street, Epping
- Craigieburn Centre – 274 Craigieburn Road West, Craigieburn
- Kilmore District Hospital – 1 Anderson Road, Kilmore
- Nexus Primary Health (outreach clinic) – 7/11 High Street, Wallan
- Wallan East Maternal and Child Health (outreach clinic) – 52 Newbridge Boulevard, Wallan East
Out clinics include:
- General paediatrics
- Behavioural/developmental paediatrics
- Allergy
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
- Neurology
- Immigrant Health
- Continence
- Pathology:
- A range of pathology services are offered at Northern Pathology for children. Please see www.northernpath.org.au for sites and opening times.
- Imaging:
- Our Radiology department can facilitate paediatric imaging. For more complex referrals requiring sedation, please discuss with the paediatrician on-call via the switchboard.
Inclusion criteria for outpatient clinics
- Infants and children under 18 years of age
- Northern Health catchment area includes children living within the Local Government Areas of Hume City, Whittlesea City, Mitchell Shire Councils, and some suburbs of Merri-bek (formerly Moreland).
Exclusion criteria
We do not currently offer subspecialty consultations in paediatric cardiology, endocrinology, haematology, or gastroenterology. Please refer directly to Royal Children’s Hospital or Monash Children’s Hospital for these services.
How to Refer
- GP Referrals: use HealthLink SmartForms to send referrals to Northern Health, including investigation results and reports.
- Other health services (hospitals, allied health, specialists etc): Fax referral to 8405 8616
Referral must include
- A list of medical conditions and any relevant investigations
- Current medications and allergies
- Growth parameters (if relevant)
- Allied health referrals or assessments (e.g., audiology, speech)
- Importantly – for children being referred for behavioural and developmental assessment, please consider organising hearing and vision tests and making relevant allied health and/or NDIS referrals when seen in the community as there are currently long waiting times
Pre-referral guidelines available at:
Alternative service options:
Contact
Director/Head of Unit: Rami Subhi, Head of Unit, Paediatrics
Specialist clinics: 8405 8335
Email: SpecialistClinics@nh.org.au
