Transition Planning
The Paediatric Rheumatology Team actively encourages young people with long term health conditions to understand and learn to manage their own health as we know this can lead to better health outcomes in later life.
Our aim is for young people to become confident when meeting medical professionals and that they are able to put their worries and concerns across and take an active part in their healthcare decision making.
We have a dedicated Youth Keyworker and from the age of around 12-13 years we start to try and see young people on their own for a short part of the consultation. This is to gauge their understanding of their condition and treatment. Over time, we expect that young people will be able to take part in consultations for a longer proportion of time and discuss their own concerns.
We always try to do this in conjunction with the families and carers so young people grow in confidence in the management of their condition.
Transfer to adult services takes place between the ages 16-18 years, and young people generally will have the opportunity to meet the Adult Rheumatology Consultant  and Nurse Specialist who will be taking over their care before they move on to this team.
If you are currently in the process of moving to an adult Rheumatology Team please help us to know how we are doing by completing this questionnaire.
Adult Rheumatology Teams
Depending on where you live, you may be transferred to the care of one of the following hospital Rheumatology Teams.
Ä¢¹½tvÊÓƵ Immunology (Periodic Fever/Autoinflammatory patients)