Your appointment with the cleft service

 

How to get an appointment

Children may be referred to our service after a diagnosis of a cleft lip or palate at a 20-week scan during pregnancy. Babies born with a cleft lip or palate usually have an appointment at 4 to 6 weeks old.

We also accept direct speech and language referrals, orthodontic referrals and children's dental referrals.

Adult patients who have had previous cleft treatments may be referred back to our service by their GP, dentist or other healthcare professional.

A member of our outpatient team will be in touch to schedule your child's first appointment once the referral has been accepted.

Changing or cancelling your appointment

If you need to change or cancel your child’s appointment, please contact us by calling 020 7188 1321 or emailing gst-tr.cleftservices1@nhs.net.

Please tell us as soon as possible so we can offer the appointment to another patient and reschedule your appointment.

Before your appointment

You should bring your child's red book to all your appointments.

If your child is a new baby, we recommend you bring their usual feeding equipment to their appointment as you may need to wait for some time. 

During your appointment

At our multidisciplinary clinic your child will see a range of healthcare professionals all at once. This may include a:

  • consultant surgeon
  • clinical nurse specialist
  • consultant orthodontist
  • speech and language therapist
  • consultant children's dentist
  • clinical psychologist

This means that all of your child's assessments and notes can be done on the same day so you don't have to make multiple trips to hospital. It also means you'll be able to ask any questions you have and get answers from the relevant professional right away. Find out more about our Evelina London cleft services team.

We may need to take photos or X-rays of your child's face. We'll discuss this with you on the day.

Appointments usually last between 20 and 60 minutes and you may be seen in different clinic rooms. Please allow plenty of time for your appointment.

As we're a teaching hospital, students and visitors may be observing the team as part of their training. We'll always ask your permission for them to observe your appointment.

After your appointment

After your first appointment we'll decide on a treatment plan and let you know what this is. We'll contact you if your child needs to have another outpatient appointment.

We'll send letters about what we decide to you and any healthcare professionals involved in your child's care.

If we decide that your child needs to have an operation, they will need to come to the pre-assessment clinic. A clinical nurse specialist will stay in touch with you throughout your child's treatment.

We invite children back to our clinics to check on their progress at 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years old. This is usually an all-day clinic where your child may see a:

  • speech and language therapist
  • clinical psychologist
  • clinical nurse specialist
  • medical photographer
  • consultant orthodontist (if needed)
  • audiologist

There will then be a group review at the end to discuss the day and answer any questions you or your child may have.

Treatment options

We also offer:

  • speech and language therapy
  • dental services
  • orthodontics
  • psychological support

Find out more about the other cleft services available.

Contacts

Phone: 020 7188 1321

Patient queries email: gst-tr.cleftservices1@nhs.net

Referrals and other clinical requests email: cleft.gstt@nhs.net

How to find us

Evelina London cleft service (PDF 219KB)
1st floor, South Wing
St Thomas' Hospital
Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7EH

This department is only accessible from lift/staircase C.

Map of First Floor, South Wing, St Thomas' Hospital (PDF 219Kb)