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EMERGENCY

In an emergency, always call triple zero (000). It’s a free call from any phone, mobile or phone box.

For other urgent medical issues, go to an Emergency Department.

Our Emergency Departments are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

‘Healthy, safe, and well’

Northern NSW Local Health District provides a range of health services in our health facilities and in the community for babies, children, and young people. We also provide support to children and families who have experienced violence and harm and connect them with other community supports.

We are committed to helping children and young people and their families understand their rights and responsibilities when receiving health care in hospitals and our other facilities.

Our services support both the physical and mental health needs of children and young people.

CHILD AND FAMILY HEALTH NURSING

Our Child and Family Health Nurses provide a range of services including:

  • Developmental screening for children from birth to five years of age
  • Home visits for new babies and follow ups
  • Breastfeeding, maternal and infant nutrition support
  • Immunisations
  • Family health and welfare
  • Parenting support
  • Child health and development, including sleep and settling

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES
Audiometry (hearing)

Audiometry (hearing) Services provide assessment of hearing problems for children aged between 9 months to 18 years of age.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

Also available: NSW State Wide Infant Screening Hearing Program – SWISH - Health Promotion

 
Diabetes Education

Diabetes Educators provide diabetes education and support for people with diabetes and their families, either in one to one or group settings. They also work closely with the Diabetes Dietician.

Diabetes Educators also provide education to health care professionals and support promotional activities that encourage people with diabetes to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 
Dietetics

Dieticians help people understand the relationship between food and health. Dieticians can help you make dietary choices to support your health, and to prevent and treat illness and disease.

Dieticians can assist with a range of conditions including diabetes, overweight, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, raised cholesterol, malnutrition, childhood feeding issues and tube feeding. They also see ‘Hospital in the Home’ patients.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 
Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists provide assessment and intervention to help clients of all ages maintain or regain function in their occupational role, perform tasks and improve or maintain independence, safety and quality of life.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 
Physiotherapy

Physiotherapists provide assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal, respiratory and neurological conditions for children and adults of all ages. Our staff will assess your condition and work with you to develop an individual treatment plan. Most treatment plans involve education, self-management strategies, specific exercise programs, and physiotherapy techniques.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 
Speech Pathology

Speech Pathologists provide assessment, management and education for patients presenting with communication (speech, language, fluency, voice, multimodal) and/ or swallowing difficulties.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

COMMUNITY PAEDIATRICIANS

Community Paediatricians provide services to children and families from vulnerable backgrounds, child protection issues, and Aboriginal children, and work within hospital and community health settings with a multidisciplinary team.

Clinics are integrated into local services, with Paediatricians working closely with the Department of Education, and the Aboriginal Medical Services at Lismore, Casino, Ballina, and Grafton.

Outreach clinics are also provided at Maclean, Yamba, Nimbin, Kyogle, Urbenville, Tabulam, Coraki, Murwillumbah, and Bonalbo.

To contact a Community Paediatrician, phone:

Goonellabah Child and Family Community Health Centre: (02) 6625 0111
Grafton Base Hospital: (02) 6641 8460
Tweed Valley Hospital: (02) 6677 2400

COUNSELLING AND SOCIAL WORK
Child and Family Counselling Services

Our Child and Family counsellors provide assessment and counselling for children aged 0-12 years and their families/carers.

We offer help with a wide range of issues that children may experience, including behavioural difficulties, stress, anxiety and mood related problems. Where possible the Child and Family counselling service works collaboratively with schools and pre-schools.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 
Social Work

Our Social Workers provide counselling on a range of issues including depression, grief, family conflict, adjusting to health changes and life stage changes, anxiety and stress, and work issues.

Our trained counsellors can also provide support to help with raising children and learning parenting strategies.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.

 

Genetic Counselling
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
GPS CARE COORDINATION FOR KIDS

Northern NSW LHD has a care coordination service (Rural Kids GPS) to support children with medical complexities and their families.

The service works closely with the family and their healthcare teams to meet the needs of the child, receive support such as appointment coordination, shared care plans, and facilitating education and training for local staff.

Children and young people aged 0 to 18 and who meet one or more of the following criteria may be eligible for this service:

  • a diagnosis expected to last at least 12 months
  • presented to an Emergency Department on 2 or more occasions in the last 6 months
  • admitted to hospital for seven days or more in the last 6 months
  • had five or more outpatient appointments in the last 6 months.

If your child is eligible for this service and would benefit from the support of the care coordination service, please discuss with your paediatrician or general practitioner for a referral. You can self-refer to the service by emailing the Paediatric Care Coordinator at NNSWLHD-RuralKidsGPS@health.nsw.gov.au.

For children needing help with complex needs returning home from Queensland Children’s Hospital or Gold Coast University Hospital please contact the Paediatric Care Coordinator NNSWLHD-RuralKidsGPS@health.nsw.gov.au.

PAEDIATRIC OUTPATIENT SERVICES

A broad range of multidisciplinary and specialist paediatric outpatient clinics are provided across the Northern NSW Local Health District. Services vary across the district.

Grafton and Maclean region 
  • General Paediatric Clinic – based in Grafton with outreach to Maclean and Yamba
  • General Paediatric Clinic supporting Bulgarr Ngaru Aboriginal Medical Service
  • Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Assessment Clinic – by referral from Paediatrician only
  • Multidisciplinary Diabetes Clinic
Lismore region   
  • Outpatient Paediatric Consultant and Registrar Clinics for Special Care Nursery and Paediatric Unit discharge follow-up
  • Multidisciplinary Diabetes Clinic
  • Monthly Botox Clinic
  • Fracture Clinic including Plaster services
  • Pre-Admission Nurse and Anaesthetist Assessment Clinics
  • Paediatric Acute Care Service (PACS).
Tweed Byron Region 
  • Tweed Valley Hospital Special Care Nursery and Paediatric Unit discharge follow-up
  • Fracture Clinic including Plaster services
  • Pre-Admission Nurse and Anaesthetist Assessment Clinics
  • Paediatric Clinics, including multidisciplinary clinic with Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist and Physiotherapy for children with developmental difficulties
  • Monthly Diabetes Clinic, in consultation with a Dietitian and Diabetic Educator
  • Monthly VMO Review Clinic to follow up children admitted to ward
  • Paediatric Hospital in the Home
  • Paediatric Case Conferencing.

All clinics are Medicare funded, and patients need a referral to book a consultation. The exception is the Aboriginal Medical Service appointments which are funded by MSOAP.

Referrals to a Community Paediatrician require a parental Health Care Card.

PAEDIATRIC INPATIENT SERVICES

Paediatric inpatient services are provided at Grafton Base Hospital, Lismore Base Hospital, and Tweed Valley Hospital, with post-operative minor procedures also available at Ballina District Hospital and Casino and District Memorial Hospital.

Elective and emergency surgical services are provided at Grafton, Lismore, and Tweed Valley Hospitals, with some non-complex day procedures provided at Casino and Ballina Hospital. Our hospitals also work closely with larger specialist paediatric hospitals such as Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, to enable access to higher levels of care if required.

TWEED COMMUNITY PAEDIATRIC NURSE

The Community Paediatric Nurse provides high-quality nursing care to children aged 0 to 16 years in the Tweed region. 

Safe, appropriate, and effective care is provided to meet the child and family’s needs, including advocacy for children and their families in navigating the health care system. 

The Community Paediatric Nurse can provide:

  • Procedural care – such as nasogastric tube insertion and education, injections, medicine administration, Central Venous Access Device maintenance/flushes
  • Discharge care – this includes wound care and post-surgical management (for example gastrostomy care)
  • Education – for example Asthma, Eczema (wet dressings) Palliative support and care Support for children with complex care needs

The service operates Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4:30pm.

HOSPITAL IN THE HOME and ACUTE CARE SERVICE

The Hospital in the Home (HITH) and Paediatric Acute Care Service (PACS) provides care for patients who are classified as hospital inpatients but are cared for in the patient’s own home. HITH and PACS are provided at Lismore Base Hospital and The Tweed Hospital.

Treatment may include post-operative care, clinical review, treatment of and education on acute respiratory conditions including asthma care, wound dressings, intravenous medications and care of intravenous lines.

For more information please contact:

Tweed Valley Hospital Paediatric Hospital in the Home (HITH): (02) 6677 3331
Lismore Base Hospital Paediatric Acute Care Service (PACS): (02) 6620 2800

SCHOOL HEALTH NURSING

The School Health Nursing Service provides four-year-old Health Assessments and School Screening services. This is a targeted service aimed at providing early assessment and referral for early intervention for at risk children and families.

For more information contact your local Community Health Centre.