Child Health Services
We aim at the Safety Net GP Surgery to provide a setting that is accessible, friendly and helpful where parents can bring their children for a medical opinion, advice and treatment. Children are welcome at all surgeries and our style is to make them as relaxed as possible for a consultation about which they may be uncertain.
Though most presentations with children are for minor illness, the threat of serious conditions like meningitis, pneumonia and dehydration, among others, are very real. Very often there can be uncertainty in the early stages of an illness. We aim to help children and their parents during this difficult stage by offering attentive care and treatment; ongoing communication, by phone or otherwise; easy access to follow up; a clear out of hours service; with final reassurance or early and appropriate referral to the relevant secondary hospital or consultant setting.
The most common presenting conditions for children include:
- Ear, chest, eye and throat infections
- High temperature/non specific viral illness
- Gastroenteritis
- Skin conditions like eczema etc
- Asthma
- Behavioural problems
- Minor trauma
- Lumps, swellings, enlarged glands etc
- Eating problems, abdominal pain
- Urinary tract infections
We are fortunate being based in Limerick to be close to a wide range of excellent paediatric services and consultants.
We work closely with the local community paediatric services, and with the local public health nurses in particular. Developmental checks are carried out at the local public health clinics.