Belfast Trust Complex Needs Team was set up to help children with complex physical health care needs. It is an interdisciplinary team which involves professionals from various services, so we can provide a more seamless service across these disciplines and Trusts. The team includes professionals from:
- Community Children’s Nursing
- Dietetics
- Occupational Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Children with a Disability Social Work Team
This service is for children who have:
- Acquired complex needs as a result of trauma
- Congenital conditions resulting in complex needs
- Children with complex needs who are life limited and require urgent intervention for discharge home and management in the community
Services provided
Some children may require input from one service, whereas others may receive input from all members of the team. We will do an individualised assessment and treatment programme with agreed goals for each child. As there is a huge variation of need, the duration of intervention will vary greatly between children, and the level of intervention will be determined by the therapist.
How to access this service
It is likely that children with complex needs will already be known to community or acute services. Referrals to the Complex needs team can therefore only be made by the following healthcare professionals:
Consultants or Paediatricians
Therapists (such as Physiotherapists/Occupational Therapists) from acute hospitals, schools and community can make referrals to their colleagues within the complex needs team.
Referral Criteria
This service is for any child:
- Aged 0-19 years
- Living in the Belfast Trust.
Due to the diversity in roles of the professionals involved in the complex needs team, each service has further referral criteria. For further information about these additional criteria please contact the team directly.