Paediatric neurology

About Our Service 

Paediatric neurology is the medical specialty concerned with conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles in infants, children and young people. Our Paediatric Neurology Service provides a comprehensive tertiary service with specialist assessment, diagnosis and treatment for babies, children and young people up to 16 years of age (at the time of referral). 

We care for children across Southwest London, Surrey and West Sussex, working closely with local paediatric teams and community services. 

Most children continue to receive some of their care locally while accessing specialist neurological assessment and management through our tertiary service. 

Who we are 

Our multidisciplinary team includes consultant paediatric neurologists, specialist nurses, doctors in training, administrative staff and allied health professionals working closely together to deliver specialist neurological care. 

Our medical team comprises: 

• Dr Antonia Clarke – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist 

• Dr Tim Kerr – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist 

• Dr Luigi D’Argenzio – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist & Clinical Lead 

• Dr Samantha Chan – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist 

• Dr Dina Hanna – Consultant Paediatric Neurologist 

• Dr Tadeusz (Lucas) Ginter – Specialty Doctor in Paediatric Neurology 

• Ms Ellen Fewkes-Woodrow – Neuroscience Clinical Nurse Specialist 

• Two Paediatric Neurology SpRs 

• Neuroscience SHO 

We collaborate closely with other specialist services at St George’s Hospital such as Clinical Genetics, Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurosurgery, Paediatric Subspecialties, Neuropsychology, Specialist Dieticians, Therapy Services. 

We also work closely with adult Neurology services to support the transition of young people with ongoing neurological needs as they approach adulthood. 

Conditions we manage 

We assess and manage children with: 

• Epilepsy and seizure disorders; 

• Complex headache disorders; 

• Neuromuscular disorders; 

• Neuroinflammatory and immune-mediated neurological disorders; 

• Childhood stroke; 

• Neurogenetic and neurometabolic disorders; 

• Functional neurological disorders; 

• Complex neurological presentations requiring specialist investigation; 

We also provide neurological input for children with other medical conditions including: 

• Brain tumours; 

• Haematological disorders affecting the nervous system; 

• Meningitis and encephalitis; 

• Complex multi-system disorders with neurological involvement 

What we provide  

Acute and inpatient services 

• Tertiary inpatient assessment and management at St George’s Hospital of paediatric patients (< 16 years old) requiring specialist neurological care; 

• Inpatient advice at St George’s Hospital to General Paediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care and Paediatric Intensive Care 

• 24-hour remote specialist advice for paediatric teams working in the District General Hospitals with whom we have a Service Level Agreement 

Outpatient services 

• General paediatric neurology clinics at St George’s Hospital; 

• Joint outreach clinics with local district general hospital paediatric teams; 

• Ketogenic diet service; 

• Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) clinics 

Southwest Thames Paediatric Epilepsy Network 

We lead the Southwest Thames Paediatric Epilepsy Network (SWT-PEN), in partnership with paediatricians with an interest in epilepsy across the region to support high-quality, equitable epilepsy care for children and young people. 

Information for families 

We work closely with paediatric teams across Southwest London, Surrey and Sussex. Most children continue to receive their care locally while accessing specialist neurological assessment and management through our tertiary service. If you have any queries regarding your child prior to our appointment please contact your GP or the referring paediatrician. 

Before your appointment 

All the relevant information for your child will be sent to us by the referring paediatric Consultant. Images from other NHS and private hospitals can be transferred securely electronically to us via the NHS Image Exchange Portal. If you need to share any document you feel may be relevant or useful for your appointment, please post it or email it to us (see contact details below). 

Our team booking is managed internally. Once your referral has been triaged and accepted, your child will be put on our internal waiting list to be offered an appointment. To reduce missed appointments we will usually contact you to offer an appointment date 6 to 8 weeks in advance. You will be contacted by phone by our admin to book the appointment, using the details held by your GP, so please keep these up to date. You will receive a confirmation letter by post with the date/time of your appointment and directions to the paediatric outpatient department. 

Waiting times vary depending on the urgency and complexity of the referral and are regularly reviewed by the clinical team. Urgent referrals are prioritised where clinically appropriate.

First appointments last usually one hour, follow-ups last half an hour. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment to check-in at the reception. We do our best to accommodate late arrivals but where this is not possible you may be asked to reschedule your appointment at another time. If you need an interpreter, please inform our admin team when they call you to offer the appointment. 

If you cannot attend your appointment after it has been confirmed, please contact immediately (at least 48 hours prior) our admin team (contact details below) to cancel and rebook. If you do not attend your appointment twice without prior notice of cancellation, your child will be discharged back to your paediatrician and will need to be re-referred. No-shows have a significant impact on our waiting-list.

Patient information resources 

• Contact: https://contact.org.uk 

• Epilepsy Action – https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/ 

• FND Hope – https://fndhope.org/ 

• Matthew’s Friend – https://www.matthewsfriends.org/ 

• Migraine Trust – https://migrainetrust.org/ 

• Muscular Dystrophy UK – https://www.musculardystrophyuk.org/ 

• NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk 

• Young Epilepsy – https://www.youngepilepsy.org.uk/ 

Who can refer? 

• NHS Consultant Paediatricians working at St George’s Hospitals or in the District General Hospitals with whom we have a Service Level Agreement: 

• Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital; 

• Crawley Hospital; 

• Croydon Hospital; 

• East Surrey Hospital; 

• Epsom & St Helier Hospitals; 

• Kingston Hospital; 

• Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton); 

• Royal Surrey County Hospital; 

• Worthing Hospital 

• NHS Community Paediatrician working in the catchment area of St George’s Hospital or District General Hospitals with whom we have a Service Level Agreement 

• NHS healthcare professionals outside our regional network on a discretionary basis 

Important: All patients referred to our service remain under the shared care of their local paediatrician and the Paediatric Neurology Service. 

We do not accept 

• Direct GP referrals 

• Self-referrals from patients or families 

• Referrals from private or international healthcare professionals 

How to refer for outpatient appointments 

Please send a referral letter to the Paediatric Neurology team either via post or NHS email (see contact details below). Please include: 

• A clearly stated reason for referral; 

• Names and contact details of all professionals currently involved in the child’s care; 

• Details of relevant current and past treatment; 

• All relevant clinic letters; 

• Full reports of the relevant investigations (MRI, EEG, neurophysiology, genetic testing etc.) 

Scan images can be transferred to us via the NHS Image Exchange Portal. 

If you have videos to share, please do not email them directly. Contact us beforehand to discuss how to share videos. 

Urgent Inpatient Advice 

For urgent advice regarding acutely unwell inpatients or patients currently in A&E: 

• Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm: please contact the Paediatric Neurology Registrar via St George’s Hospital switchboard. Please note we have no registrar cover out of hours.  

• Out of hours where advice is needed before the start of the next working day: please contact the on-call Paediatric Neurology Consultant via St George’s Hospital switchboard. 

Please note: this advice line is intended for healthcare professionals only. Patients and families who are concerned that a child is acutely unwell should seek urgent medical attention through their GP, NHS 111 or local emergency department as appropriate. 

Following all telephone discussions, please submit the neurology referral form together with relevant clinical information and investigation results to ensure appropriate documentation. 

Please do not use this pathway for routine outpatient referrals. If you need advice for patients not currently admitted in hospital, please contact the named Paediatric Neurologist for your hospital to discuss. 

Referral proforma for paediatric neurology

Contact details 

St George’s Hospital switchboard: 0208 672 1255 

Paediatric Neurology team 

• Telephone: 0208 725 0339 

• Email: paedneuroppc@stgeorges.nhs.uk 

• Post: Paediatric Neurology team, Paediatric Department, St George’s Hospital, Blackshaw Road Tooting, London SW17 0QT