Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service
The Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service gives you access to timely medical care, potentially reducing the need to visit the Emergency Department.
A visit to the Emergency Department can be daunting for children and their parents.
The Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service allows children who are well enough to avoid hospital and receive expert advice virtually, no matter where they are.
This service is staffed by highly skilled paediatric emergency nurses and doctors who will assess your child and provide advice or referral to an appropriate service for ongoing care.
How the Child And Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service works
- Click the link below to register
- A staff member will check your details
- You will be placed in an online waiting room before speaking with an emergency nurse
- The emergency nurse will assess your child. If the nurse thinks your child needs to speak with a doctor you will be placed back in the waiting room until the doctor is free. You might also be referred to another healthcare service.
Access the service by clicking the link below:
The Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service is available 7 days a week from 1:00pm to 8.30pm.
Hours
Attention: If your child’s condition worsens while you are waiting for your virtual consult, please go to your nearest emergency department or call 000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Children and young people aged between 1 and 18 years of age can be seen in the Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service if they live in the Adelaide metropolitan area.
The Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service will not see and treat life threatening conditions but is able to see a variety of urgent and semi-urgent conditions such as:
- Allergies
- Cough, cold, runny nose
- Ear pain
- Throat pain
- Fever
- Minor head injuries
- Rashes
- Abdominal pain
- Minor injuries – sports injuries, sprains and strains
- Mental health
If needed, we can refer to services close to your home, such as if your child needs x-rays or blood tests.
The Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service is staffed by highly-skilled paediatric Emergency nurses and doctors.
Yes, the nurse and medical staff will need to see your child in order to complete a comprehensive assessment and to develop the best plan of care.
In an emergency, call 000 or present to an Emergency Department.
- A device with a camera and audio (phone, tablet, computer)
- Your Medicare card and medical insurance details
If applicable, please make a list of your child’s past medical history and current medications. Ideally, the virtual consult should be undertaken in a quiet environment with optimal lighting to allow the doctor to carry out a comprehensive assessment.
It is also useful to have your GP and local pharmacy contact details in case we need to provide a script or follow up letter.
This will depend on your child’s condition and how many other people are using the service. Children with the most urgent conditions will be prioritised.
Our experienced nurses and doctors will guide you through some aspects of the physical examination to assist the assessment. If the nurse or doctor feels that an examination needs to occur in person they will refer you to the most appropriate service.
This will depend on your child’s condition. Referral pathways include:
- Priority Care Centres (Oaklands Park, Hindmarsh, Para Hills West, Elizabeth)
- Emergency Mental Health Team (virtual consult)
- Urgent Mental Health Care Centre (Adelaide CBD)
- Your local pharmacy
- Your local GP
- Your closest specimen collection centre
- Your closest radiology provider
- Your local emergency department that caters for paediatric patients
Yes. If you require a sick certificate for work, school or childcare please let the nurse/doctor know.
Feedback
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