Serennu Children's Centre

Welcome to our unique, exciting integrated children’s centre.

We aim to provide a high quality, professional and friendly service here at Serennu in all that we do to include treatment, care and provision of leisure activities.

The Serennu Children’s Centre opened in April 2011. The centre is a purpose built centre that provides care, treatment and activities for children and young people with disabilities and developmental difficulties from Newport, South Monmouthshire and South Torfaen.

One of the primary benefits of Serennu is the provision of treatment, care, information, consultations and leisure services from under one roof. This eases tremendously the burden on individual families and provides continuity of care for the children.

The guiding principle for Serennu is to ensure disabled children and their families from all communities are fully supported to participate in valued childhood experiences and have access to the same range of opportunities, life experiences, mainstream and community services and facilities as other children and their families.

The centre facilities include:
  • Multiple consulting rooms for paediatricians to run clinics
  • Purpose built hydrotherapy facilities
  • Physio gym facilities for individual and group treatment
  • Large treatment rooms for football and bike skills groups
  • Specialist technology room
  • Specialist audiology and Speech and language facilities
  • Family and sibling facilities
  • State of the art sensory room
  • Plastering, splinting and orthotic facilities
  • ADL suite to assess potential for supported and independent living
  • Small treatment rooms for individual treatment
  • Wheelchair training facilities
  • 3D MediCinema
  • Leisure and play facilities including a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) 

‘Serennu’ isn't just about the treatment that the children and young people receive; the centre provides family centred services to accommodate the needs of parents too. Through use of the MediCinema and leisure facilities the centre helps families to be able to socialise and enjoy a range of activities in a supportive environment. 

 

If you wish to talk about any matters concerning the centre then please do not hesitate to contact: Donna.colwill@wales.nhs.uk; 01633 748001

The speech and language therapists based at Serennu Children’s Centre are part of the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Paediatric Special Needs speech and language therapy team.

 

The speech and language therapy team work closely with parents to enable them to develop their child’s communication skills through working on specific targets that can be incorporated into their daily life. The speech and language therapist may provide advice to the child’s nursery/school. The therapist may also work with other professionals including occupational therapists and physiotherapists to provide joint assessments or interventions.

 

The speech and language therapist also works with children who have eating, drinking and swallowing problems. The therapist, in liaison with the multi-disciplinary team, will assess the child’s eating and drinking difficulties and plan appropriate intervention. The therapist needs to ensure that the child’s eating and drinking skills are safe and effective.

 

To contact speech and language therapy services please contact 01633 748060/748062 for speech and language services at Serennu or 01633 623740 for general enquiries.

What are Physiotherapists?

Physiotherapists are healthcare professionals who help people mainly through physical activity such as exercise and movement. Some physiotherapists specialise in working with children and learn about the illness they get and how best to help them. They are called Children’s Physiotherapists.

 

What childhood disorders can we help with?

• Neurological disorders, such as Cerebral Palsy

• Babies with delayed development

• Orthopaedic problems

• Rheumatology conditions

• Muscular Dystrophy

• Children with co-ordination difficulties

• Respiratory conditions

 

Where do we see children?

We aim to see children in the most suitable environment to their current needs e.g:-

• in a Children’s Centre

• in school

• in nursery

• in playgroup

• in their own home

• during a stay in hospital

 

What do Children’s Physiotherapists do?

We assess children in order to confirm a diagnosis and decide whether physiotherapy treatment would be beneficial.

We treat a wide range of conditions. This can be on an individual basis or within a group.

We may sometimes ask one of our physiotherapy assistants to carry out a treatment programme.

We advise parents and carers how they can help improve the way a child is able to move and function.

 

For further information please contact us on 01633 748064

Occupational Therapists (OTs) are interested in children/young people’s occupations.  These are things that children/young people need to be able to do to live their lives and fulfil their occupational roles: to be part of a family, play, look after themselves, make friends and go to school.  The primary goal of OT is to help children/young people to develop, restore and maintain those skills, behaviours and relationships for independent living.

 

The OT team, based at Serennu, cover the boroughs of Newport, South Torfaen and South Monmouthshire.  We are part of the Gwent wide OT service, working closely with our colleagues based at the children centres in Abergavenny and Caerphillly.  We also work closely with our Physiotherapy and Speech and Language Therapy colleagues as well as OT’s in Social Services (Local Authority) and the Child and Family Psychological Health Service.

 

We accept referrals for assessment from health professionals, education and Local Authority agencies where clear functional difficulties, related to a child/young person’s occupations, have been clearly identified.  Functional difficulties are usually identified as a result of physical disability, developmental and or co-ordination difficulties or Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

 

Children/young people can be seen on an individual or group basis (depending upon need) and in the environment that is best suited to their needs e.g. home, nursery, school or the Serennu centre.  Intervention can consist of a number of approaches or techniques and will be agreed in conjunction with the child/young person, parents/carers.  Examples of intervention offered include a hand splinting clinic, opportunities to develop independent living skills and 24hr Postural Management programmes.

 

Further information regarding the OT Service can be obtained by calling 01633 748080.

We see children with a variety of nutritional and dietary needs and provide practical advice to ensure optimal growth and development.  This may include children with poor weight gain or overweight children, those with food allergies, nutrient deficiencies such as iron deficiency anaemia, and children who have feeding problems or those who require artificial nutrition (enteral feeding).

 

Referrals can be made to us at the Royal Gwent Hospital and we can arrange to see the children in clinic at Serennu.  Members of the dietetic team will also arrange to attend multi agency team and other meetings on site.

 

Please contact our Paediatric Dietitians on 01633 234288

Podiatry is a profession that deals with the health and development of the Foot & Ankle and any associated walking problems.  During certain times, such as development in children, the foot needs a little extra help to function normally.

 

The podiatrist can deal with a wide range of developmental, functional and foot health issues. They may set up a care plan which could involve exercises, supportive footwear and Orthoses (insoles) or simply offer their professional advice.

 

Insoles are designed to help with foot function and may be used in both the long and short term. They typically fit within a suitable shoe to give improved support.

 

If you require an appointment with the Podiatrist you will need a referral from your GP or a healthcare professional such as an Orthotist, Physiotherapist or health visitor etc. 

 

For enquires, please contact the Podiatry service on 01633 615225.

Children aged from 7 months are seen for hearing assessments, hearing aid fittings and reviews in the room named “Cup” – a fully sound proofed facility on the lower ground floor of the Serennu Children’s Centre. 

Hearing assessments which are appropriate for the age and development of each individual child are carried out for those newly referred into the service and for those who have already been diagnosed with a significant permanent hearing loss or temporary hearing loss. 

Children requiring hearing aids are fitted using modern computerised methods, taking into account each child’s hearing loss and individual ear characteristics to ensure the best fitting for that child.

The multi-professional Children’s Hearing Impaired Clinic (CHIC) is held each Tuesday afternoon when staff representatives from Audiology, ENT, Paediatrics, Education and Speech Therapy meet together with children and their parents to discuss their progress and individual management plans.

 

For audiology enquiries please contact 01633 234390

We are a team of Registered Children’s Nurses and Healthcare Support Workers.

 

Our Vision

To promote and support the care of Children and Young people within the Community ensuring that their healthcare needs are met by working collaboratively with the family and other healthcare professionals with the aim of reducing hospital admissions and length of stay in hospital.

Our Philosophy

To provide a holistic approach towards the delivery of care for Children in the Community with complex healthcare needs. This is achieved by working in partnership with the family and the multi-disciplinary team.

 

The Scope of our Service

To deliver a nursing service to children and young people under the age of 16, or up to the age of 18 for those with complex health needs. 

We provide our Service to children and young people within Newport and Torfaen.  The Community Children’s Nursing Service also has teams based within Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouth.  Please contact our main office at Risca Health Centre for details of these teams (01633 618020).

The Service is available between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday.

Children’s orthotic clinics are held across the Health Board in both hospital and community settings. Orthotic Clinics are held at Serennu Children’s Centre on the Lower Ground Floor on a Thursday.

 

Children may be referred to see an Orthotist by their GP, Paediatrician, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist or Podiatrist.

 

If a brace or support or required this will be ordered after an assessment appointment and when the brace or support is ready then a further appointment will be made to fit and adjust the support.

Orthotics involves the fitting of braces to help support unstable joints and encourage mobility and function for children with a wide range of problems. This may include any brace or support that is required on any part of the body from your head to your toes.

An Orthosis is a word used to describe any externally applied device used to modify the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems.

An Orthotist is a person who has completed a degree course in Prosthetics and Orthotics and is authorised by an appropriate national authority to design measure and fit braces and supports (orthoses.)

We provide a paediatric continence service for children aged between 0 to 18 with bladder and bowel conditions, requiring specialist input.  Referrals are only accepted from GPs, Consultant Paediatricians and Consultant Urologists.  All referrals need to be sent to:

Paediatric Continence Specialist Nurse, Continence Service, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, The Annex, Llanfrechfa Grange Cwmbran NP44 8YN

Tel. 01633 623789 or 01633 623786       

Paediatric Continence Clinics are held weekly on a Friday afternoon.

The clinic consultation will offer a full assessment and a treatment plan for children with bladder and bowel conditions.  Each appointment is allocated a 30 minute time slot.

All appointments will be sent from the Continence Advisory Service Headquarters located at Llanfrechfa Grange

The Paediatric Department provides an in-reach community paediatric outpatient service at Serennu.

The service aims to participate in the early detection, assessment, intervention, and care co-ordination for children suffering from disadvantage as a result of chronic health problems, developmental problems, disability or social disadvantage and to work closely with colleagues in health, education and social services with a view to improving outcomes

As with many services for children, the care is usually provided by multi-professional teams working together.

Improving the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of expectant mothers, infants, children and young people throughout Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Area.

(N.B: The Family and Therapies team at ABUHB is NOT responsible for the content on the webpage links that we refer to in our resource sections and linked information to external sites. All information was accurate and appropriate at the time the webpage was created.)

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