The Calderdale and Huddersfield Child Development Service is a team of specialists, which include paediatricians, nurses, therapists, developmental play specialists as well as other professionals from education and psychology.
For families the Child Development Service is often the starting point of a journey. The multi-professional team work together with parents and carers to achieve the best possible outcome for each child. Currently, during the initial assessment process, a child could be seen by a variety of professionals, in different venues.
The Princess Royal Community Hospital currently hosts the Child Development Service (Ellerslie Centre) in the Huddersfield area. We now know this building will definitely close and that services will no longer be provided from this site in the future. Because of a review is taking place regarding how services are provided and how these could be best delivered.
The health trust are proposing to provide one Centre for all young patients and their families in Halifax and Huddersfield and their preferred option is for that centre to be close to paediatric care, which is provided at Calderdale Royal Hospital. In their words this proposal means that:
- Having one Centre will give families improved access to other hospital based services such as blood testing, radiology and pharmacy.
- They will offer specialist clinics within the Centre e.g. Botox, Neurology and Genetics to further support our vision for holistic care.
- A single Centre will support children with rare conditions and allow for more networking and peer support.
- Therapeutic interventions, such as physiotherapy, developmental play therapy, speech therapy, will be offered to children and families closer to home. This could include other settings alongside preschool services.
- On-going medical outpatient follow up appointments will continue in local areas across Calderdale and Huddersfield.
How this will work
The initial assessment will be performed by a number of professionals from the Centre at Calderdale Royal Hospital. This will mean you will see everyone you need to see in one place. Once this is complete you will receive ongoing therapeutic intervention, which will be provided from a range of locations in your local area.
This would include some in the Centre as well as other sites across Huddersfield and Calderdale, such as nursery settings and potentially within your own home.
If you wish to give your views on the service review, please complete the online survey at: http://www.greaterhuddersfieldccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/child-development-service/ where you will also find a full copy of the consultation document.
