Health services for children and young people with SEND

Some services aim to support children and young people with conditions or needs that cannot be met by community health services alone.

These are called targeted health services.

You usually need an assessment or referral to use a targeted health service. This could be from a:

  • general practitioner (GP)
  • health visitor
  • social worker
  • another professional

This page provides information about targeted health services available in Hounslow. They are:

Young people with learning disabilities are offered a free annual health check from 14 years old.

These checks aim to help young people talk about their health and wellbeing with a GP and identify any treatable illnesses early on. 

You book an annual health check through your GP. You can find your nearest GP on the NHS website.

You can learn more about annual health checks on the NHS website.

Mencap offers a downloadable guide to annual health checks in easy read.

The adult learning and disability health team provides specialist support for people with learning disabilities aged 18 years or older. They help adults to live social and inclusive lives.

You can learn more about the adult learning and disability health team on the West London NHS Trust website.

Children’s occupational therapists (OT’s) work with babies, preschool and school-aged children who have a physical, developmental or sensory difficulty. They help children develop the skills they need in everyday life.

You can learn more about children’s occupational therapy on the West London NHS Trust website.

The children’s physiotherapy team provides services for children and young people with symptoms or conditions that affect their physical movements, abilities, development and function.

You can learn more about children’s physiotherapy on the West London NHS Trust website.

Community paediatrics is a specialist child health assessment service aimed to meet the needs of children with special or complex health needs.

GPs or other health professional can make a referral to use this service.

You can learn more about community paediatrics on the West London NHS Trust website. 

Whittington Oral Health aims to help improve children’s oral health and improve access to dental services for children and young people living in Hounslow.

For children and young people with SEND, they offer:

  • oral health and healthy eating workshops for parents and carers
  • oral health parent and teacher workshops in special schools
  • a ‘how to brush’ programme for children in special schools
  • ‘Tooth Champions’ training for all front-line staff working with children with SEND, providing them with tools and materials to enable them to spread key oral health messages

You can learn more about the Whittington Oral Health offer on Whittington Health NHS Trust website.

You can also download an information pack:

The speech and language therapy (SaLT) service provides information, advice and treatment for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

This also includes services to support children and young people with eating or drinking (dysphagia) difficulties.

Health professionals, parents and carers can make a referral to use this service.

You can learn more about children’s speech and language therapy on the West London NHS Trust website.   

Specialist health services aim to support children and young people with a range of rare and complex conditions.

To receive support from specialist services, a child or young person must have a significant permanent disability that negatively affects normal daily activities.

Children’s community nursing works with parents and carers of children with acute, chronic, complex health or palliative care needs.

You can learn more about children’s community nursing on the West London NHS Trust website.   

Some children and young people need additional health support if their needs cannot be met by existing universal, targeted or specialist services alone.

This additional health support package is called continuing healthcare.

You can learn more about continuing healthcare on the North West London website.

You can learn more about the children and young people’s continuing care framework on GOV.UK. 

Children’s personal health budget

A personal health budget is funding aimed to support a child or young person‘s health needs. This funding is provided to children and young people who are eligible for continuing care.

The three ways you can have a personal budget are:

  • direct payments to your bank account, so you buy and manage services yourself
  • no actual money given because the local NHS service has commissioned support on your behalf
  • third-party arrangements, where you choose someone else to manage the money for you

The Wheelchair Hub provides an inclusive wheelchair, seating and sleep system service for people with long-term mobility problems and postural needs.

A GP or other healthcare professional who is working with the patient can make a referral.

You can learn more about The Wheelchair Hub on the West London NHS Trust website.

Shooting Star Children’s Hospices support local families with babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

You can learn more about Shooting Star Children’s Hospices on the Hounslow Connect website.

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