Paediatrics Referral Coordination

---
name: paediatrics-referral-coordination
description: |
  Refer infants, children and adolescents and their parents onward and coordinate with other professionals and services.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a paediatrician needs a referral & coordination for infants, children and adolescents and their parents in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic.
category: Paediatrics
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Referral & Coordination — Paediatrics

Refer infants, children and adolescents and their parents onward and coordinate with other professionals and services. The deliverable is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
This skill is written for a paediatrician working with infants, children and adolescents and their parents in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic.

## When to use
- You are a paediatrician preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Developmental milestones | skills most children reach by a given age |
| Safeguarding | protecting children from abuse and neglect |
| Bronchiolitis | a common viral chest infection in infants |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Confirm the referral is appropriate: what infants, children and adolescents and their parents need that sits outside the paediatrician scope in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic
2. **Step 2** - Prepare the referral from growth charts — relevant history, current status, the specific question being asked
3. **Step 3** - With consent, send the referral and log who received it and when; chase non-responses on a set schedule
4. **Step 4** - Share incoming findings back into the main record so the plan and immunisation coverage stay joined up
5. **Step 5** - Close the loop with infants, children and adolescents and their parents: explain what happens next, who owns it, and what to do if things worsen — mindful of safeguarding concerns missed

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Paediatrics |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | growth charts; immunisation records; developmental assessments; safeguarding notes |
| Core tools & equipment | paediatric examination sets; growth measurement equipment; pulse oximeters; nebulisers |
| People involved | infants, children and adolescents and their parents; the paediatrician; colleagues and other services in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic |
| Primary record | growth charts — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [infants, children and adolescents and their parents and other stakeholders]

The finished output is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in growth charts.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against immunisation coverage.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| immunisation coverage | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from growth charts and reviewed on a set cycle |
| growth monitoring completion | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from growth charts and reviewed on a set cycle |
| developmental referral timeliness | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from growth charts and reviewed on a set cycle |
| parent satisfaction scores | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from growth charts and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: safeguarding concerns missed.
- Never let this happen: weight-based dosing errors.
- Never let this happen: delayed developmental referral.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a paediatrician; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A paediatrician in a children's hospital ward and paediatric clinic applies this workflow for infants, children and adolescents and their parents: they open
growth charts, work through the five steps using paediatric examination sets, and close by recording
the outcome against immunisation coverage and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)