Patient information

West London Children's Healthcare

Find out what to expect when you come to hospital for your child's haematology, blood and marrow transplantation appointment.

Before your appointment

Please remember to bring your child’s 'red book' with you to the appointment. During appointments we will always ask about your child’s recent vaccinations and the 'red book' helps to work out which vaccinations are still due.

If your child receives regular blood transfusions at another hospital and you only come to St Mary’s Hospital for occasional specialist reviews, please remember to bring with you your handheld clinical record book (if available) or a list of your child’s medication, recent blood results, and if possible, the amount of blood they have received in the last few months.

Please be aware that your child may be on special medicines that can only be prescribed by their consultant and some of these medicines can only be prescribed if your child has regular blood tests.

Please also remember to check your appointment letter for anything specific you have been asked to bring with you.

In addition, it would be helpful if you could bring the following:

Your full address and telephone number(s)
Your appointment card and appointment letter
Your GP’s name and address
A list of questions you may want to ask your consultant

During your appointment

The appointment normally lasts around one hour for a new patient or 30 minutes if it is a follow-up appointment. There may be blood tests to complete afterwards.

During the appointment a consultant paediatric haematologist will provide a comprehensive assessment of your child's condition. In order to minimise the number of hospital visits, we will arrange as many investigations as possible to take place around the same time as the appointment. These investigations are coordinated by our paediatric haematology clinical nurse specialists.

All blood tests are done by a dedicated phlebotomist while your child is in the clinic. Some children may need specialist investigations such as transcranial Doppler (TCD) scans, spirometry, x-rays and ultrasound scans. These are arranged on the day of your appointment. MRI scans, psychology, and hearing assessments can also be arranged for the same day.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some consultations. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

All paediatric haematology clinics are supported by the outpatient play specialist team to improve the child's experience. We also have a dedicated paediatric pharmacy service for clinic patients.

After your appointment

You and your child will be given clear written guidance regarding follow-up appointments and contact numbers for clinical nurse specialists and secretarial staff. A written summary of the consultation will be sent to you, the referring doctor and your GP.

Ward information

If your child is admitted for sickle cell or thalassemia disorders they will likely be admitted to Great Western Ward. If your child is admitted for bone marrow transplantation they will likely be admitted to Grand Union Ward.

Please visit our wards page for visiting times, protected meal times, contact details, simple directions and further information about our wards.