When a child has a fracture, it is important that this is assessed as quickly as possible to provide the best treatment plan.

Virtual Fracture Clinic

Overview

A Virtual Fracture Clinic was launched at Brighton’s Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in 2019. The existing Fracture Clinic currently treats up to 5,000 children a year and it follows the successful launch of an equivalent virtual clinic for adults at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

The aim of the Virtual Clinic is to provide a more efficient service that is better for everyone – whether it is the child, parents or doctors.

The service

How does it work?

The clinic allows all children to be assessed within 72 hours by a children’s orthopaedic consultant. Parents are contacted by email or phone with a treatment plan and supported to manage their child’s recovery at home.

Where children may require a hospital appointment, this will be provided, but children won’t have to attend outpatient clinics unless they really need to.

Benefits

We know that coming to the hospital for an appointment causes anxiety for many children. Reducing this anxiety by reducing the number of hospital visits was one of the main aims of introducing the virtual clinic.

Helpful resources

• Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals