A SPECIALIST clinic aimed at preventing babies and children with respiratory illnesses from having to go into hospital unnecessarily is back up and running in York.

The Children’s Ambulatory Treatment (CAT) Hub, running at Askham Bar Care Centre, is a collaboration between York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Nimbuscare.

It was set up in the summer of 2021 to ease the anticipated pressures associated with the surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on both primary and secondary care services. It continued until April 2022 as the winter months are when babies and children are more likely to suffer with respiratory illnesses and the NHS comes under the greatest pressure.

Now, the CAT Hub has recently re-launched to help manage the current surge of respiratory syncytial virus following the return of children to nursery and schools, and to provide continued support over the coming winter months.

Dr Rebecca Brown, clinical lead for the CAT Hub, said: “After initially running the clinics as part of a pilot project last year, we’ve continued to adapt the service to meet the needs of local families. It was suspended temporarily during the summer months, when there is typically less demand, but is now back up and running at Nimbuscare’s Askham Bar Community Care Centre.

“We’re here to see babies and children with all kinds of respiratory illnesses, including croup, bronchiolitis and what we call ‘pre-school wheeze’, which is a type of breathing difficulty that young children often pick up during the winter months.

“However, it’s important that concerned parents and carers seek advice from their GP first. That way they can come to see us, rather than having to take their children to the Emergency Department at the hospital unnecessarily.”

The Hub is a dedicated GP and paediatric nurse-led service for babies and children aged between three months and 12 years who have a fever or symptoms of respiratory illness, such as croup, bronchiolitis and viral wheezing.

The clinics are open to patients of all the Vale of York's GP practices on Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 2.30pm and 8.30pm. However, to access the service, parents and carers must contact their child’s GP or telephone NHS 111 for an initial assessment.

Caroline Alexander, associate chief operating officer for family health at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The pressures on all our services over winter will be significant, so we’re pleased we’ve been able to work in partnership across our health care provider teams to stand up the CAT Hub at pace in response to the respiratory syncytial virus surge as children have returned to school, and in readiness for supporting local families and our teams working over the winter months."