How do I get an appointment?
Our service is open to families who are registered with a Lambeth or Southwark GP.
If you're concerned about your child, talk to one of the following professionals who will be able to make a referral for you:
- your health visitor
- your child's nursery teacher or school teacher
- your GP
- your child’s other health professionals e.g. therapists
Learn more about our referral process.
Arranging your child’s appointment
Once referred and accepted, we will call you to arrange an appointment. If we can’t reach you, we will send a letter asking you and the person who referred you to contact us. If we don’t hear from you, your child’s referral may be closed.
Most first appointments happen in person at one of our Child Development Centres: Mary Sheridan Centre in Lambeth or Sunshine House in Southwark.
Please check your appointment letter to make sure you go to the right child health centre.
Before the appointment
Please fill out and return any forms we send you. This helps us make the most of your appointment. We usually ask your child’s school or nursery to fill out a form about how your child is doing there too.
Please let you child know why they will be coming to see us and go through this information with them so they know what to expect.
Here is a 5 year old child’s explanation (and drawing) of what will happen when you arrive!
- First you get to the building.
- Then the person at the desk with a computer says hello.
- Then you find somewhere to sit in the waiting room.
- Then I found the play room! That’s all the toys.
- Then the doctor said my name and we went to another room to talk.
What to bring to your child’s appointment
- Your child’s red book (health record), if you have it
- Any recent reports from schools, therapists or specialists
- Videos taken from home of any unusual movements of behaviours in particular that you want to discuss
When you arrive for your child’s appointment
Please check in at reception when you arrive so we know you are here. If you are running late, please let us know by calling:
Mary Sheridan Centre: 020 3049 4005
Sunshine House: 020 3049 8100
Our waiting areas have toys and books available, as well as access to small gardens or soft play areas that you are welcome to use. You’ll also find a range of health information leaflets, which you are free to browse or take home.
Toilets and water fountains are available for your convenience. If you have any questions while you wait, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of our reception team. The health professional you are seeing will call your name and collect you from the waiting room.
After the appointment
Stickers are always available to any child who would like one, please feel free to ask if we forget to offer.
We will write a report about your child’s visit. We will share this with you, your child’s GP and the person who referred your child. With your permission, we can also share it with your child’s school or other professionals who support your child.
After your clinic, you may be referred for further assessment. Please be aware, these may take place in a sperate building or in the hospital. Some of the places we commonly refer to children we see to include:
- audiology for hearing tests – these take place at St Thomas’ Hospital and at Sunshine House
- ophthalmology for eye tests – these take place at St Thomas’ Hospital
- blood tests – these will never be done in your appointment at the Mary Sheridan Centre or Sunshine House. If needed, these take place at St Thomas’ Hospital at a later time
- medical photography – this team is based at St Thomas’ Hospital or Guy’s Hospital
- specialist dentists for children with additional needs – these are based at King’s College Hospital
- physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech & Language Therapy – these are based at Sunshine House and the Mary Sheridan Centre
- CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) – this service is based at Sunshine House, Mapother House at the Maudsley Hospital, and William Geoffrey House
Most children are discharged from our service after the assessment is done and a management plan has been put in place. Children can be referred back to us at any time by their GP or other health professional if new concerns develop.
Language support
If you need an interpreter, please tell us which language you speak. We can arrange for an interpreter to be with you for your appointment. If you need help before your appointment, or if an in-person interpreter isn’t available, we can also arrange for a phone interpreter to assist you.
Changing or cancelling your appointment
If you can’t come, please call us as soon as you can to reschedule.
Mary Sheridan Centre: 020 3049 4005
Sunshine House: 020 3049 8100
If you don’t arrive for your appointment, we will try to contact you by calling the telephone numbers on your child’s health record. If we cannot get through to you and you didn’t call to cancel the appointment in advance, we may assume you don’t need our service anymore and your child may be taken off the waiting list.