The CDC is part of Children's Services where individual children's developmental progress can be assessed by a team of specialists from Health Education and Social Services.

Before the assessment the CDC team Social Worker will arrange a home visit to explain the assessment to you and answer any queries.  You will also receive a booklet that gives full details about the Child Development Centre and the assessment.

the aim of the assessment is to share information and identify any difficulties that your child may have, then to provide a future plan of care to meet any identified needs.

This department monitors temporary hearing problems by giving advice to parents, schools and other agencies involved with the child or, if appropriate, referral to Ear, Nose and Throat.

The department provides hearing aids for children with permanent hearing loss and works closely with the specialist teaching service to support families and ensure that children achieve their full potential.

Currently there is one Psychologist in the Children's Hospital with two distinct roles:

• Firstly - assessment intervention and support for sick children/young people and their families, for example, helping them come to terms with their diagnosis.

• Secondly - assessment of children/young people as part of the Child Development Service, for example, to contribute towards diagnosis.

The Department provides a seven-day-a-week service seeing children in the community.  They provide support and advice to families, care for children in the community with acute and chronic medical conditions, carry out monitoring and investigations and provide care for children from all specialties.

There is also a national continence service:

Diagnosis and management of the ear, nose and throat conditions.  Works closely with the Audiology Department in the management of hearing impairment.  Also works with Speech Therapy and has joint clinic with the Cleft Palate Team.

Advising patients, families and carers about epilepsy, the aim being to help them live with, not suffer from, epilepsy.

the service operates a helpline from Monday to Friday, 9am until 10.30am.  Books, leaflets and videos are also provided, and training is offered to professionals, patients and carers.  The service operates an open referral system and liaises closely between primary and secondary care to improve and speed communication for the benefit of people with epilepsy.

In General Practice, the day-to-day medical health needs of both the child and the family are undertaken.

In many situations the Family Doctor will be the first port of call for medical help, advice and on-going treatment.

The Family Doctor has a good working knowledge of available expertise and can act as a 'sounding board' for the patient when he or she wishes to 'talk things through'.

The Family Doctor can be a friendly face in difficult times.

The Liaison Health Visitor links with School Nurses, District Nurses, other Health Visitors and services to ensure the continuation of care on discharge from the hospital.

The service offers support to families and carers in hospital.  It offers advice and information about a child's condition or illness, and about care and treatment given.

Health Visitors outside of the hospital presently make routine visits to all children from 10 days of age.  They help to educate parents on how best to care for their children, and draw attention to unmet health needs in healthcare and social services which, if successfully addressed, would be likely to improve health.

In this department it is practical skills which are looked at, for instance the way in which a child uses his or her hands.  The Occupational Therapist (OT) also assesses:

Seating, at home or at school

Dressing

Writing skills

Mobility

The hospital Occupational Therapist aims to develop the best level of independent function of which a child is capable.  The OT's advise teaching/support staff to facilitate continual input for positioning and function.  Additional advice regarding housing and equipment can be provided by the Occupational Therapists based within the Children's Disabilities & Health Team (CDHT), Social Services (Also see sections 3.2, 7.2 & 11.1).

This department deals with diseases of the eyes that affect visual function, structure of the eyes and the related organs.

If you need glasses you need to see the optician (see section 5.14).

This department attempts to provide patients with a cosmetically-acceptable, healthy and efficient set of teeth.  The service is provided for cleft lip and palate and facial deformity patients, and in difficult technical problem areas in normally-growing patients.  Surgery and straightening treatments are used; advice and treatment is provided.

There is also a clini in central Doncaster that offers a dental service for children with disabilities.  The child needs to be referred to the service by their consultant, GP or dentist or, if they attend one of the special schools, they may get referred automatically.  The clinic is more than happy to answer parent's queries over the phone or give out advice that parents may find useful.

This department advises and manages musculo-skeletal problems and disabilities.  This may vary from simple advice to complex surgical procedures.

This is all done in a team context, working in full co-operation with other disciplines.

The Orthoptist is concerned with vision and ocular motility.  An assessment of vision is made to determine the level of sight present in each eye, and ocular motility is concerned with the function of the eye muscles.  If a weakness is present, it can result in a 'lazy eye' (poor eyesight) or a squint (a 'turn' in one eye).  Both conditions need to be found and treated in early childhood (see section 5.12).

An Orthotist aims to provide a child with the minimum amount of support needed to improve their walking, decrease pain, protect them from harm, or control the progression of a condition.

The ultimate goal of the Orthotist department is to provide a child with the best possible help during their development.  This is done by keeping the parent/guardians informed of the options available and placing them in control of the child's Orthotic management.

The term 'Orthoses' covers a large range of braces, splints and supports but is best described as any external device that is attached to the body.  This includes insoles, footwear, splints, knee braces, spinal jackets and helmets.

A Paediatrician is a doctor with special medical knowledge and expertise in care of children.  The role of the consultant paediatrician is to facilitate the assessment and investigation of children with the view to establishing a diagnosis and formulating a management plan.

The consultant paediatrician also co-ordinates the therapeutic services required and liaises with agencies that would be involved in the management, care and education of the child and the family.

The Physiotherapist is concerned with a child's physical development.  This includes looking at position, posture, balance and movement.  The physiotherapist works closely with the family and carers to encourage continuation of management/treatment at home and at school.  The physiotherapist's aim is to assist and motivate the child to the best of his or her ability, in order to lead the fullest life possible.

The School Nursing Team provide a wide range of services to children and young people aged 4-19 years and their families living within the Doncaster borough.  Services are provided within the school, home and community setiings.  School nurses provide professional advice and support on health issues relating to child development, child health surveillance and immunisations.  As part of their public health role school nurses also provide health promotion on a range of topics.  They can be contacted through your child's school or via the Child Health Department.

The function of this department is to assess and work with children and families to improve children's communication skills, ie understanding the use of language, intelligibility (where appropriate), fluency and voice (if indicated).

SALT's also play a part in assessing eating, drinking and swalling skills and advising on management of any difficulty.  This covers all ages, including babies.

The department provides clinical support regarding issues surrounding wound management and pressure ulcer management.