Skip to main content
Women’s and Children’s Hospital
Acknowledgement
The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on the traditional lands for the Kaurna people, and we respect their spiritual relationship with their Country. We also acknowledge that the Kaurna people are the custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of people who have passed away.

Introducing COVIDKIDS

COVIDKIDS news item header
Posted 10 Nov 2021

COVIDKIDS is a new dedicated service for children and young people diagnosed with COVID-19.

South Australian children and young people with COVID-19 will be able to access treatment from the comfort and safety of their own home, as part of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network’s (WCHN) COVIDKIDS service.

More than $3.7 million is being invested into the establishment of the new service to ensure the state is prepared to look after young South Australians when the borders reopen later this month.

The service was officially launched today and will be led by Paediatric Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr Nan Vasilunas and Nurse Unit Manager Beth Schell.

Dr Vasilunas said families whose children are referred to COVIDKIDS will receive regular virtual check-ups, support and advice while at home and children will be able to access onsite care at the hospital, should they require it.

“We are both so proud to be part of this new virtual COVIDKIDS service and provide expert support to children with COVID-19 and their families in the comfort of their own home,” Dr Vasilunas said.

“We know that children and young people are less likely to require hospitalisation with this disease and we anticipate that the vast majority of will be cared for outside of a hospital setting with the support of our Hospital in the Home teams.”

“Providing this virtual service allows us to keep our inpatient best for the rare cases that become severely unwell and our dedicated outpatient space gives us the ability to see COVID-19 patients face-to-face in a COVID Safe way.”

This space will have its own separate, dedicated patient entrance off King William Road. If a child with COVID-19 needs to be admitted to the hospital, the COVIDKIDS team will ensure that the process is as easy and safe as possible for the family.

Infrastructure upgrades are also underway to the ventilation and air-conditioning system to the newly dedicated area for patients with COVID-19 to provide a safe environment for the children and families who need extra medical care and support and need to be in hospital.

WCHN CEO, Lindsey Gough, said the new COVIDKIDS service is a fantastic example of the ability for clinicians to be innovative in how we respond to COVID-19.

“Being able to review and assess children and young people with COVID-19 in their own home will be a huge benefit, not just for the care and comfort of our patients, but also for reducing the risk of spread of infection and keeping our community safe.”

More information is available on the COVIDKIDS page.