Children’s Health & Wellbeing

Healthcare is an issue that affects all children. For many children, a visit to their GP usually occurs just now and again. Children with specific health conditions such as asthma may visit us on a more regular basis; while children living with a chronic illness such as diabetes may have a more significant relationship with us as, we become an important part of their lives.

Regardless of how often your child may visit our service, we will do our very best to ensure this is a positive experience, where you and your child feel respected, listened to and supported in our care. We provide child-friendly healthcare with a smile, an understanding and listening ear, and the very best in evidence-based care.

At Galway East Medical Practice, we champion the health and wellbeing of children and pride ourselves on providing a child-friendly healthcare service for all. We also carefully consider your child’s unique health needs and their level of understanding so we can deliver healthcare that is appropriate to their stage of development. For example, the needs of babies vary greatly to the needs of toddlers, whereas the needs of older children also differ significantly from the healthcare needs and experiences of teenagers. With this mind, we have developed a specific programme of care for adolescents and young people; guys click here and girls click here.

Information regarding Blood tests for Children:

A blood test is a very common medical test. Should your child require a blood test as advised by our GP's or a Consultant we will endeavour to make this appointment a positive experience for your child.

We can perform blood tests on children over 5 years of age. Children under 5 years, once reviewed by a GP, may be referred to Paedatrics if blood tests are required.

IMPORTANT: For children Under 16 attending for bloods ONLY their Parent/Legal Guardian MUST be present with the child during the procedure.

Below are some of our recommendations for when your child is attending for blood tests:

• Please ensure your child has eaten a full breakfast
• Please ensure your child is well hydrated prior (i.e water)
• Please bring a sugary drink for your child to take after the procedure

If your GP instructs you to use EMLA cream (local anaesthetic) on your child's arm prior to the appointment, please see instructions as per below. Notify your GP if your child has any allergies prior to using this cream.

• 1 hour prior to appointment please apply a pea-sized amount of the local anaethetic 2% Emla cream to both inner elbows and the back of both hands
• cover with dressing provided
• do not rub in
• cream should not be applied to broken skin or wounds or if the child has active eczema
• these areas will remain numb for up to 4 hours

Resources:

Throughout this section, you will find useful links to inform and guide you through some common health problems we see children come in with regularly. We are big fans of mychild.ie, Patient and NHS Choices Children’s Health. Both websites are an excellent source of evidence-based health information and healthcare advice for parents.