Paediatrics

Department
Paediatrics

Northwest General Hospital has a robust and busy Paediatrics department. The Department of Paediatrics at NWGH not only caters for general Paediatrics but has also a subspecialty Neonatal unit which is one of its kind in the whole region.

The Paediatric Department Consultants are fully dedicated to patient care and are also involved in teaching Undergraduate students from NWSM. The Paediatrics Consultants are recognized Supervisors for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan and have been training Post Graduate Trainees in the field of General Paediatrics and Neonatology.

There is a dedicated and trained Paediatrics Surgery team linked with the Paediatrics department.

Northwest General Hospital has a daily running clinic for General Paediatrics and Paediatric Surgery. The Paediatric Consultants have a minimum experience of 15 to 20 years and treat various common diseases like Common Fevers, Meningitis, Seizure disorders and prolonged Diarrhea, Respiratory Chronic Disease and Asthma in children. They also deal with Common Kidney Diseases and specialize in treatment of children with growth issues.

The Paediatric Surgery team treats children requiring elective surgery like undescended testis, acute appendicitis, bowel obstruction, kidney stone and bowel problems.

Pediatric Department Training Program at NWGH Hospital

The Pediatric Department at NWGH Hospital offers a comprehensive 4-year training program for pediatric postgraduate students pursuing their FCPS qualification. The program encompasses a diverse range of rotations designed to provide a well-rounded learning experience. The rotations include:

Neonatology: Gain hands-on experience in the care of newborns, including preterm infants and those with complex medical conditions.

Pediatric Neurology: Learn about the diagnosis and management of neurological disorders in children, contributing to specialized pediatric care.

Pediatric Gastroenterology: Explore the field of pediatric gastroenterology, focusing on digestive system disorders and their treatment in young patients.

Pediatric ICU: Acquire skills in managing critically ill pediatric patients in an intensive care setting, honing your ability to handle medical emergencies.

Neonatal ICU: Develop expertise in caring for critically ill newborns, including premature infants and those with critical medical issues.

Infectious Diseases: Understand the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases in pediatric patients, contributing to public health efforts.

Neurodisability: Learn about neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities in children, enhancing your ability to provide specialized care and support.

Our training program aims to prepare pediatric postgraduate students to become skilled and compassionate pediatricians, capable of addressing a wide spectrum of medical needs in children. Through these diverse rotations, students will gain valuable practical experience and knowledge to excel in the field of pediatrics.

Sections

If required, patients can be admitted into the Paediatrics Ward of the Hospital. The hospital has facilities of four-bedded wards, private rooms and a Paediatric ICU where the patients are looked after by dedicated and well-trained staff. Admitted patients are treated for ailments like Acute Asthma, Severe Dehydration, bleeding disorders and Kidney and Heart Failure, as well as for observation and recuperation after surgery.

The Department has a one-of-its-kind Neonatal unit which caters to Neonates and deals with all types of newborns ranging from 26 weeks gestation to 42 weeks of age. All babies under 28 days of life are counted as newborns and the neonatal unit accepts patients from in-house obstetric cases and takes referred cases from over the region. Dedicated Well Baby clinics are run every Tuesday and Thursday where all newborn who are being discharged from the Neonatal unit are followed up. This clinic also sees outside referral by appointment. The main aim is to follow up all graduates from its nursery. The well baby clinic assesses the development of growing newborns, advises on vaccination and does screening for hearing and visual problems. Proper referral is further made to Orthopaedics, Eye and ENT depending on need of infant.

Specialised Services

The Paediatrics ICU admits children who have had surgeries, severely ill children or unconscious children, due to various diseases of the brain like meningitis and diabetic ketoacidosis, acute fulminant hepatitis, children with double pneumonia, etc. There are full facilities of ventilators in Paediatric ICU and Kidney dialysis for children can be carried out in the PICU as well.

The Neonatal unit has a dedicated Intensive Care Unit as well. The Northwest Neonatal ICU is Level 4 Tertiary Care Unit which admits newborn babies born with surgical problems. It handles all premature babies from 26 weeks of gestation and 800 grams. The unit has the capacity to ventilate up to 5 newborns and also has facilities of Noninvasive ventilation by C-PAP. Premature and bowel surgery newborn babies are managed with Total Parenteral Nutrition which is prepared in house, in state of the art drug center, in laminar flow environment with zero contamination.

NICU admits all prematures, septic newborn, newborn with seizure and meningitis or acute respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Surfactant therapy for premature lungs is regularly done here as well.

The Neonatal Unit has a High Dependency Unit (HDU) for newborns. It is a step down unit from NICU and all premature babies who are growing prematures or have improved from their life-threatening critical condition are first brought to this unit. These growing prematures are fed by special feeding technique to minimize incidence of infection. All children with high jaundice requiring exchange transfusions are also kept here till stabilized. Jaundice is treated by high quality phototherapy units.

The Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) is a further step down from Neonatal HDU. Newborns with mild pneumonia and respiratory issues as well as all growing premature who become more than 1500 grams are also kept in SCBU.

The Paediatrics Department has also started the Northwest Neonatal Transport Services (NETS). This is a fully dedicated ambulance service only for neonates. Its main aim is to safely transport sick babies from all over Peshawar. This dedicated service is serving all the local community of KP. It retrieves sick infants from different maternity homes and other hospitals which does not have specialised staff and equipment available. It is done on family or in-charge pediatrician request. A specialised team consisting of neonatal doctors and nurses retrieves these newborns from the respective hospitals or maternity homes. The service, or any further information, can be obtained by calling 1028.

Panel of Doctors – Paediatrics