Our service is provided by Newcastle Hospitals at the RVI, but we provide care for patients and families across the North East, Cumbria and Northern Yorkshire Border.
We are one half of the Northern and Yorkshire Cleft Service, and we work closely with our sister hospital in Leeds.
Our service
We provide:
- One service for all patients with a cleft, from antenatal care through to adulthood.
- Care for patients with speech difficulties, including those with no obvious cleft.
- Counselling support throughout the diagnostic process.
- Specialist nursing input for cleft identification, feeding assessments, airway management referrals, and pre-operative and post-operative support.
- Specialist dental and orthodontic input.
- Full multidisciplinary team clinics.
Our service is delivered by an experienced team of specialists from a range of clinical disciplines to ensure that all the care needs of our patients are met. Care is tailored to each individual, with input from different professionals provided according to their specific requirements.
How can you access the service?
New babies
Babies born with a cleft, or those diagnosed antenatally, are automatically referred to the cleft service by the consultant or healthcare professional responsible for their care.
Once a referral has been received, a cleft specialist nurse will assess and confirm the diagnosis before registering the baby with the service.
Once registered, patients remain under the care of the cleft service until all planned primary and secondary surgeries have been completed.
Transfer of care
If you or your child move to a different area and are already receiving care from another cleft service, your care will usually be transferred automatically.
Once the transfer request has been received, you or your child will be assigned a new cleft specialist nurse, who will contact you by telephone to discuss ongoing care and arrange a home visit if required.
Re-accessing the service
If you are an adult who would like to return to the service to discuss further treatment, you can contact our administration team to check whether you are still registered with us.
If you are no longer registered, you can make a self-referral.
Further Information
Additional Support
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS can provide help, advice and information about NHS services.
Telephone: 0800 032 0202
Email: [email protected]
Text: 01670 511 098
