Our children’s rheumatology team care for children and young people with rheumatic diseases.
Our specialist services include the investigation, diagnosis and treatment of children’s rheumatic diseases. We also provide education and ongoing support.
We are the only children’s rheumatology team outside London to provide autologous stem-cell treatment for children with the most severe rheumatological problems.
The service also has one of the UK’s largest research programmes into children’s rheumatology diseases.
Patient-centred care
Our patients are at the centre of the services we provide. Here, two of our nurse specialists talk to some of our young patients about being more involved in their care.
Specialist care
Our team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists work closely together to provide care for children and your people with a range of inflammatory conditions. These include;
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
- Juvenile Lupus (JSLE)
- Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM)
- Autoinflammatory diseases like familial Mediterranean fever
- Uveitis
- Vasculitis
- Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO)
Patients access our team through referrals from primary care doctors and a range of hospital specialists. We have access to a wide range of investigations to aid rapid diagnosis.
Our specialist clinics are held in the Great North Children’s Hospital and include joint clinics with other paediatric specialties including Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Immunology and Infectious diseases and Nephrology.
Our teenage clinic includes dedicated time with the clinical nurse specialists. It is focussed on helping young people to understand their disease and medication. We will also support them through their move to adult care.
Immunosuppression
Many of the conditions that we treat require ‘immunosuppression’ – we have a range of treatment options that we tailor to the condition. They are adapted to the needs of each patient.
Many of these will be given at home by families or with support from community nursing team. Other treatments will be given in our children’s day unit.
We always want to make sure that patients and their families have enough information about their disease and treatments, and have a dedicated nursing helpline for families to access.
Expert care
All patients are initially seen for assessment at the Great North Children’s Hospital.
Follow-up appointments can be in one of our outreach clinics in Carlisle, Darlington, Middlesbrough or Sunderland. This means you don’t have to travel as far to see one of our specialists.
Nurse specialists
We have a team of nurse specialists who build really close relationships with their young patients and their families:
- Ruth Wyllie
- Lucy Craig
- Kathy Seed
- Jenny Hutchinson
- Sharon Cairns
More information
For more information about our service, please contact us on:
Telephone: 0191 282 5318
