Children's Constipation Service

Our services

We offer appointments in our clinic which is held every Wednesday afternoon at Donnington Medical Practice and also offer telephone support to families. We can liaise with Schools and Nurseries to provide information and support for the children and their families.

The service follows the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and locally written guidelines on childhood idiopathic constipation.

There may be at times, and if required, a paediatric psychologist present at the clinic appointment.

The people we see

The Children's Constipation Services sees infants and children from six months up to their 18th birthday who have idiopathic constipation as their primary diagnosis and have a GP based in Telford & Wrekin. They must also have been on medication for the treatment of constipation for more than 6 months.

New patients

Children and young people who meet our criteria will have an initial appointment, this will take about an hour where we will take a detailed history and carry out a physical examination. We will then provide patients with written information and a care plan to take home.

Existing patients

Once your child's constipation has been addressed in the first instance, we will keep assessing the child regularly to ensure further bouts of constipation do not occur. This will include advising them on their diet, taking medicine and toileting habits.

We discharge children and young people from our caseload once constipation is well managed with the treatment plan or if the problem resolves. If any further problems arise within 6 months of discharge you may contact the service directly. If it has been longer than 6 months since your child was discharged from the service, they will need to be seen by your GP for an assessment who can then re-refer if it is needed.

Services we do not offer

We do not offer services to:

• Infants under six months of age.
• Newborns, infants and children who have constipation with a known cause.
• Children and young people who have a primary diagnosis of soiling with no constipation, the School Nurses/Health Visitors would see these children.
• Children and young people registered with a Shropshire GP
  
  

What to bring with you

For an initial assessment you can bring along any charts or food diaries that you have been keeping so we can assess if the diet may be a factor in the condition.

Where are we?

Clinics are held at:

• Donnington Medical Practice Health Centre
  Wrekin Drive
  Donnington
  Telford
  TF2 8EA

Who are we?

The Children's Constipation Service is a nurse-led service based within the Community Children's Nursing Team.

We have registered nurses who are experienced in working with children, young people and their families with acute, long term and complex health needs in the community.

We also have an assistant practitioner who may be someone you speak to as part of our follow up support and who delivers any educational programmes to families and education settings if needed.

The team is also supported by a Paediatric Psychologist,