The Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways focus on delivering better, safer care for children in Victorian general practice, reducing unwarranted variation in care and reducing the pressure on hospital emergency departments.
The statewide pathways were written by GP clinical editors through collaboration with local GPs, hospital-based paediatric specialists, nurses, allied health professionals and other subject matter experts. More than 150 clinicians from across the state have been involved, including Safer Care Victoria’s Paediatric Clinical Network.
Where available, The Royal Children’s Hospital Clinical Practice Guidelines have been translated into these new statewide clinical care and referral pathways. The pathways are designed for use within general practice during patient consultations and will help GPs and other primary care clinicians to provide best-practice care for young patients presenting with these common conditions.
29 clinical pathways and 16 associated referral pages have been created covering:
- Allergy
- Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- Gastroenterology
- Neurology
- Respiratory
- Unwell child
Referral pages clearly outline the referral criteria required for GPs to complete appropriate referrals. These essential referral criteria have been specified by each outpatient and specialist paediatric department in Victoria. They aim to improve the quality of referrals, to reduce hospital wait times to ensure the right patients are being seen at the right time, and ultimately, to improve the patient experience.
The Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways is a Safer Care Victoria and Victorian and Tasmanian PHN Alliance partnership.
Implementation of the Statewide Paediatric Pathways project is supported by the Victorian Government.