NHS community services (Children and Family Health Surrey)
Children and Family Health Surrey is the Surrey wide NHS community health service. It is for children and young people from birth to 19 years of age and their parents and carers.
Children and Family Health Surrey includes health visiting, school nursing and school-age immunisation services. As well as specialist paediatric, nursing and therapy services to support children and young people who have additional needs requiring on-going care. Our health services are closely linked to Surrey's mental health services. This helps improve the care and support families receive.
Visit the Children and Family Health Surrey website for more information, top tips and advice.
Surrey-wide 0 to 19 Advice Line
Families with children from birth to 19 years old can call our Surrey-wide 0 to 19 Advice Line on 01883 340 922.
The advice line is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). They provide support on all aspects of child health, development and parenting.
Immunisation service (for school-age children and young people)
The Immunisation team is responsible for the planning and delivery of the school-age immunisation programmes (vaccines) in Surrey.
The vaccination programmes are usually carried out in schools. We also offer clinics in community settings for home-educated children and other children depending on their individual needs.
School nursing
School nurses are registered nurses who have completed additional specialist training.
Our school nursing teams are made up of school nurses, registered nurses, nursery nurses and clinical health assistants.
The School Nursing team work across Surrey to promote physical health and emotional wellbeing in schools and in the community. They have information and resources about sexual health, illnesses, healthy eating, exam stress and bullying.
You can contact the school nursing service by calling the Surrey-wide 0-19 Advice Line on 01883 340 922.
Specialist school nursing
Our Special School Nursing teams are based in the eight Severe Learning Disability Special Schools across Surrey. They also work with children and young people, from nursery to 19 years old.
The Registered Nurses and Assistant Practitioners in the school teams work closely with pupils, parents, carers, teaching staff and a wide range of other professionals. Together they identify the pupils' health needs and provide agreed care plans.
The teams are an integral part of the school community and provide training and support for the school staff to meet the individual health needs of the children and young people. This allows all students to fully access their education and reach their potential, no matter the complexity of their health needs.
Specialist nursing (Continuing Care)
Our Continuing Care service gives support and care for children who meet the criteria for NHS funded children's and young people's continuing healthcare. They require additional healthcare support at home and in the community.
A continuing care package may be needed when a child or young person has care needs because of a congenital condition, disability, accident or illness that cannot be met by the existing universal or specialist services on their own.
Developmental Paediatric Service
The Developmental Paediatric Service is dedicated to helping children and young people manage health problems that might be affecting their developmental progress.
Our Surrey wide service is led by consultants. It assesses children and young people experiencing a wide range of developmental difficulties related to:
- developmental delay or disorder
- neurological disability
- autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - under 6yrs
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - under 6yrs
- cerebral palsy
- severe learning difficulties (SLD) and/or complex needs (the DPS may carry out these assessments in schools).
NHS Occupational Therapy Service – Children and Family Health Surrey
NHS Occupational Therapy Service enables children to participate in daily life to improve their health and wellbeing. Daily life is made up of many activities (or occupations).
Occupations for children may include self-care (getting ready to go out, eating a meal, using the toilet), being productive (going to nursery or school), and leisure (playing with toys or doing hobbies).
Our occupational therapists support children and young people up to 19 years old who live in Surrey and find occupations and participation difficult due to a range of conditions/diagnoses.
Occupational Therapy Helpline
The Occupational Therapy Helpline is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 2pm to 4pm on 01932 558570.
The helpline offers practical occupational therapy advice, strategies and support to schools, parents/ carers and other professionals in relation to a child's/ young person's functional and independence skills.
NHS Early Years Speech and Language Therapy - Children and Family Health Surrey
NHS Early Years Speech and Language Therapy provide assessment, therapy and advice to support children with a range of speech, language and communication needs.
We do this by looking at your child's attention, play, understanding of language, the spoken language they use (vocabulary, sentences), social skills, speech sounds, fluency and voice. We also support children with swallowing difficulties.
We support preschool children registered with a GP in Surrey and who live in Surrey who have speech, language, communication and/or swallowing needs. We also see older children with a stammer, voice difficulties or children with an acquired brain injury who are leaving hospital and returning home. We work with parents and nurseries/schools to ensure they have a good understanding of what they need to do to support the child.
NHS Physiotherapy Service – Children and Family Health Surrey
NHS Physiotherapy Service provides assessment, therapy and advice for babies, children and young people with physical difficulties from birth up to 19 years old. Our team of physiotherapists have specialist skills, experience and knowledge of childhood development and childhood disability.
We work closely with your child, family, other professionals and with nurseries and schools, to maximise your child's physical potential and independence.
We support the physical needs and development of children and young people up to 19 years old who live in Surrey and have mostly developmental, neurological and neuromuscular conditions. They might also have complex long term medical, social and learning needs.
We work closely with parents and nurseries/ schools to ensure they have a good understanding of what they need to do to support your child.