TranslateNeonatal follow-up clinic
Outpatients
Information about neonatal follow-up clinics to review babies with specific conditions.
The Department will periodically contact patients waiting for an outpatient clinic appointment via SMS, with a link to an electronic form. This is part of routine waitlist auditing to ensure patient details are up to date. If you receive this SMS, please update your details.
Availability
North
South based service.
North West
South based service.
South
Royal Hobart Hospital (Level 3, D Block - North)
Paediatric Clinics
Phone: 03 6222 6776
Fax: 03 6222 6752
Emergency care
If you, or someone else, are experiencing a serious and life-threatening injury or illness call triple zero (000) immediately or go to the nearest Emergency Department.
Learn more about when to access emergency care and non-emergency care options if the injury or illness is not serious or life-threatening.
Scope
The Neonatal Follow-up Clinic reviews babies:
- Born at less than 32 weeks gestation (i.e. very preterm) and/or with birth weight less than 1.5 kg.
- Late preterm and term babies with specific conditions requiring specialised follow-up (eg syndromic disorders, congenital heart disorders, neurologic disorders including hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, etc)
The purpose of specialised follow-up is to:
- Promptly identify problems in this high risk group of infants and initiate early intervention
- Collect outcome data on very preterm infants to provide accurate information on outcomes to the community, provide information for parents expecting the delivery of a very preterm infant, and to improve the care in the Tasmanian NPICU at the RHH.
The follow up schedule is individually tailored and is often:
| Age | Specialists |
|---|---|
| Approximately 6 weeks after discharge and at 3 months of age | Neonatologist and Physiotherapist |
| 8 months, 12 months, 2 years, 3 years, and 4.5 years correct age. | Neonatologist and Allied Health (may include Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, and Psychologist) |
The Neonatologist or Paediatrician may review babies beyond two years of age if he/she was born extremely preterm or was very growth restricted at birth, or if there are other concerns. Those babies who will clearly require follow-up into later childhood will be transitioned to an appropriate paediatric clinic or private paediatrician. Those who are progressing well will be discharged from the clinic.
The Allied Health team includes a Physiotherapist, Psychologist, Occupational Therapist and a Speech Pathologist and assists in assessment and management of developmental problems.
Cross referrals are made to other paediatric services as required, including the Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, Early Intervention Service, Audiology, Ophthalmology and Dietician Services.
Referral process
Infants are referred to this clinic on discharge from the Neonatal Unit, or by direct referral from a Paediatrician.
If you believe you have a patient who requires care from this service then referral is via the General Paediatrics referral system where triaging and allocation will occur if the infant meets the criteria.
All referrals should comply with the referral standards including birth history and developmental information where possible.
Where available, eReferral via HealthLink smart forms is now the preferred and only secure method of referral to the Tasmanian Department of Health.
