The Starship General Paediatrics service provides specialist paediatric medical assessment and mangement for children who live in the Central Auckland area. It is provided as both an inpatient and outpatient service. Inpatients are usually admitted through to the Starship Emergency Department and occasionally as an arranged admission. The service provides an inpatient programme for young people with eating disorders who are medically unstable, in collaboration with the Child Liaison Psychiatry team and Eating Disorders Service.
Outpatient services see a wide range of paediatric medical problems needing diagnosis and/or management . This includes children with behavioural and developmental problems including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, development issues and children who have multiple problems requiring ongoing care for chronic conditions. There is a specific diagnostic and management service for children who sit on the autistic spectrum, working closely with the Ministry of Health and backed by a clinical psychologist. A management programme for children with obesity is currently in development.
The team consists of specialist general paediatricians, a dedicated nursing team, a clinical psychologist, play specialist, junior doctors in training and medical students. In addition to tertiary subspecialist teams, we liaise closely with other Starship teams including Allied Health, Radiology, Child Liaison Psychiatry and other agencies including the Child Development Team CAMHS, Taikura Trust, child protection services and Ministry of Education.
General Paediatrics works in collaboration with Te Hononga PHO to provide the Tamaki Toi Tu Kids service, which is a community team involving nurse practitioners, general paediatricians and community health workers, aimed at effectively managing children and their family/whanau in the community rather than in hospital.