How do I get an appointment?
Your child will be referred to our service by their GP, hospital consultant or another healthcare professional in south east England.
Your appointment will be at one of our clinics in Level 0 - Ocean, Evelina London:
- a weekly clinic on alternate Monday afternoons run by a multidisciplinary team
- a monthly clinic on Thursday afternoons run by Dr David Pang
Changing or cancelling your appointment
Please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer the appointment to another patient and book another appointment for your child.
Before your appointment
Please bring:
- any letters from other medical teams involved in your child's care
- a pair of shorts and a vest or t-shirt so we can examine your child's joints easier
- a list of medicines your child is taking, including the dose
- things for your child to do while you wait for your appointment, plus a snack and a drink.
During your appointment
Your appointment will last between 45 and 75 minutes.
You will meet several different health professionals during your first appointment with the team. This is because chronic pain may have an effect on lots of areas of your child's life, and your own.
When you arrive, please check in at reception. You may be given a questionnaire for you and your child to complete. This helps with our assessment.
A member of the team will discuss your child's pain and medical history with you and your child. We'll ask you how your child's pain is affecting their life, mood, education and your family as a whole. We often spend time with you and your child individually as a part of our assessment.
We may measure your child's height, weight and blood pressure. If your child needs to have blood tests or X-rays, we'll try to arrange for these for the same day as your appointment.
It is not always possible to predict the needs of our patients during appointments. This can sometimes lead to longer waiting times, but we'll always try to see you as soon as possible.
If we prescribe medicine for your child, you'll usually collect it from the pharmacy at Evelina London.
As we are a teaching hospital, students and visitors may be observing the team. We will always ask your permission for them to observe your appointment.
After your appointment
At the end of the appointment, we'll make a care plan with you and your child. There are lots of different types of treatment to manage chronic pain so we'll talk to you about which options may suit your child best.
We'll write to the person who referred your child to explain what happened at the appointment and what will happen next. We'll also send a copy of this letter to you, your GP and any other healthcare professionals involved in your child's care. It is helpful for you to bring a list of professionals who you would like to receive a copy of this letter. We'll usually contact other professionals before or after your first appointment to help make sure your child's care is coordinated across different services.
The letter will have our contact number if you have any questions.