On
Paediatrics Department
The RPA Paediatric team is committed to delivering high-quality specialist care for babies, children, young people, and their families in our local community.
We prioritise vulnerable children and continually strive to improve patient care and safety through multidisciplinary skills training, supporting primary health care providers and motivating our clinicians. We take pride in our collaborative approach and actively partner with metropolitan paediatric services by sharing knowledge and innovative ideas to advance models of paediatric care across the wider network.
Our services
We provide General Paediatric, ENT, General Surgical and Orthopaedic Care for children aged 0-16 years in our inpatient Child and Adolescent ward.
At the other end of our inpatient ward is the Ambulatory Care Clinic, which provides short term follow-up for children discharged from the Children's Ward or Emergency Department. Our general paediatric outpatient clinic and the surgical clinic are also based in these rooms.
The medical team works closely with a specialist team of nurses, allied health, administrators and the RPA Hospital School.
Clinics and specialty services
- Inpatient paediatric unit
- General paediatric outpatient clinic
- Paediatric Acute Review Clinic (PARC)
- Overnight Oximetry
- Subspeciality Paediatric Clinics
- Allergy/Immunology
- Paediatric surgery
- Multidisciplinary Paediatric Feeding Service (paediatrician referral only)
- MRI under sedation (paediatrician referral only)
Referral process and criteria for GPs
Referral process
RPA Paediatric Outpatient Clinic accepts GP referrals via HealthLink SmartForms only. Referrals can be submitted securely through GP practice management systems or the online HealthLink Portal. This replaces all previous referral methods, including fax, email, post and walk-in referrals.
Please ensure referrals include all required information and meet clinic criteria before submitting. Patients who do not meet criteria should be referred to a private paediatrician, local hospital outpatient service, or appropriate external provider.
As a public hospital service, unexpected delays, changes or appointment rescheduling may occasionally occur due to hospital activity and emergencies. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
Referral criteria
- Aged from birth to 16 years. For patients over 16 years, please refer to adolescent or adult services.
- Vulnerable, high-risk or financially unable to afford private health services.
- We prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, please include this information in your referral.
- General medical concerns must be present.
- Patient must reside in RPA catchment only.
SLHD patient but outside of RPA catchment, please refer to Paediatric Outpatient Clinic, Canterbury Hospital:
Ph: (02) 9787-0164
Fax: (02) 9787-0094
Must reside in Sydney Local Health District: RPA and Canterbury catchment accepted.
Please refer to Community Paediatrics SLHD, for multidisciplinary developmental assessments, learning, or behavioural concerns.
CHIL is the access point for allied health support in SLHD (Psychology, Speech Pathology, Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy and Fussy Eating services).
Ph: (02) 9562 5400
You must have a GP referral to access our clinics.
All referrals must be via the NSW Health e-referral system. New referrals are triaged within 10 working days.
We prioritise urgent cases. Please be aware there may be a delay of up to several months before an appointment is available.
We offer both in-person and tele-health consultations.
Please bring all relevant health information to appointments for your child including any imaging reports, blood test results, hearing/vision test results, specialist reports, allied health or psychology reports, school reports or cognitive/neuropsychological assessments.
If you believe we have misunderstood the complexity or urgency of the child’s appointment please contact us by email on SLHD-RPA-Paediatrics@health.nsw.gov.au or call the outpatient clinic on (02) 9515 4530.
Department team
Our paediatric doctors
Consultant paediatricians supervise and advise on the care of all children cared for in our hospital. You will also be cared for by our team of junior and senior doctors in training. Please don’t hesitate to direct any concerns you have about your child to them.
General Paediatric Outpatient Clinics:
Address referrals to:
- Dr Stephanie Francis - Head of Department
- Dr John Cass-Verco
- Dr Christy Norwood
- Dr Julia Parmeter
Paediatric Surgical Clinics:
Address referrals to:
- Dr Jonathan Karpelowsky
- Dr Camille Wu
Our nursing staff
Our paediatric nurses will care for you and your child both in the clinic and during your time in hospital. They are available to respond to any concerns you may have.
Our administrative staff
Our friendly administration staff are ready to greet you when you arrive or assist you over the telephone when booking clinic appointments.