Children's nutrition and dietetics patient information

Find out what to expect when you come to hospital for your child's nutrition and dietetics appointment.

Before your appointment

You will be contacted by one of the team within a week of us receiving your referral to arrange an appointment.

Parents/caregivers should attend all appointments with their child if they are under 16. There is no limit to the number of family members but two parents/carers is preferable.

Teenagers may wish to attend their appointment on their own and this should be discussed prior to coming to the appointment.

Patients are not required to remove clothing during a dietetic consultation with the exception of babies under one year of age.

In some cases the dietitian may request a three-day food and symptom diary to be filled in and this will be sent to the parents prior to the consultation. Please bring the completed diary to your appointment. In addition please bring your child’s ‘red book’ to the appointment.

During your appointment

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. 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

The dietitian will discuss the reason for referral to the service and take a full dietary history. Based on this, advice and support will be provided, often with written information to support this and take home.

All patients will have their weight and height taken and on occasion your child may have their mid-arm circumference measured (using a tape measure around a bare arm) or tricep skin fold thickness (using calipers).

After your appointment

A follow-up will be discussed at the end of the appointment and a date confirmed. Your dietitian will write a letter to your referrer discussing the nutritional treatment and a copy of this letter will also be sent to you.