Hospital Services

We have a dedicated 24/7 children’s department at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington for the emergency care and treatment of children aged under 16.

Children with minor injuries can still be seen at our urgent care centres at Wansbeck, Hexham and North Tyneside general hospitals. These hospitals also provide a variety of outpatient clinics for children, as well as any planned care or surgery.

The team

You may be seen by medical staff trained in paediatric (children’s) healthcare including a paediatric or emergency care consultant, advanced paediatric emergency nurse practitioners, doctor, children’s nurse, nursery nurse, diabetes nurse, dietitian or physiotherapist.

We also work closely with the local authority health and social care teams.

Northumbria Hospital Children’s Department

If you are poorly you may be referred to our Children’s Department by your GP, brought in by ambulance, or booked in as an emergency patient by a healthcare professional.

What happens in the Children’s Department

Please go to reception when you arrive to give your details to a receptionist. You will then see the assessment nurse. They will talk to you to see how you are feeling, and can give you some medicine if any part of you hurts or you are feeling very unwell. You’ll then be asked to wait in our children’s waiting room until a nurse or doctor is ready to see you.

At the end of your visit you will either go home, be asked to go to our Children’s Outpatients for follow up, or you may need to stay on the children’s wards in the hospital to have more treatment to help you get better. If this does happen, don’t worry, one of your parents can stay on the ward with you.

A few children sometimes need to stay in hospital longer and may need to go to the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle to get better. Again, don’t worry one of your parents can stay with you.

If you are 12 and over we will also:

• Offer you time to speak to our doctors alone, if you would like a bit of time to speak without your parent(s) or carer(s) in the room
• Talk about confidentiality and how we use the important information you share with us and take your privacy seriously.
• Ask you about your current health need(s) and also about healthy lifestyle, including exercise, diet, smoking and sex.

Special care baby unit

We have a special care baby unit at Northumbria Hospital working alongside our maternity services. The unit is supported by advanced neonatal nurse practitioners, acute paediatric consultants and nurses with skills in looking after new born children. The unit looks after babies who are born prematurely, or who need some special treatment before being discharged home. Babies requiring intensive care would need to go to one of the regional neonatal intensive care centres; such as Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle.