Consultation
Consultations are charged according to the following:
Initial consultation cost
Involves a 1 hour direct consultation with the child and parent/ carer and a detailed summary letter (extra 1 hour input) which will be posted, emailed or faxed to all concerned.
Follow up consultation costs
Standard follow up/ review is 30 minutes, but it will depend upon the level of input required. If a thorough re-assessment is needed, an initial consultation cost may be charged.
Conversely, if a brief email exchange is sufficient, two such episodes would need to occur before a follow up charge is applied.
Private Medical Insurance
Some private medical insurance companies cover dietetic consultations. Please check with your insurer. Lisa is currently registered with PruHealth, Aviva, WPA, BUPA, CS Healthcare, Simply Health, Cigna.
Fees
For details of current charges, please contact Lisa. Fees have to be paid by bank transfer prior to the appointment, to facilitate administration.
If you have private healthcare insurance, you will need to contact your company in advance to obtain a claim number if applicable and provide FANS with your policy number. Check which companies FANS is registered with above.
To check that your health professional is a registered dietitian (RD), go to the health care professions council website.
If you have any questions about the service, check the FAQ page. If your question isn’t answered, please contact FANS
Skype consultation
What you need in order to have a consultation with FANS by Skype is:
Run a test call to check your video is working before the planned consultation
Find FANS on Skype. ID is liswad.
The initial consultation, either undertaken in a Nottingham clinic, by telephone or by Skype will last about 1 hour, and will involve the following:
•
Step 1 in the diagnosis of food allergy involves taking an allergy focused clinical history.
The online allergy assessment (coming soon) form provides this information and this will be the first thing discussed with you.
By registering with FANS following completion of the online allergy assessment form, you will have received a recommendation as to whether or not you should be seeking the advice and
support of a specialist paediatric dietitian to help you look after your infant or child with suspected food allergy.
•
Step 2 in the
diagnosis of food allergy is
Allergy testing.
A) If an immediate-type food allergic reaction is suspected, information on how to manage the food allergy will be provided and a blood test (specific IgE) will be organised via the GP or paediatrician. The results once available will then be discussed with you by FANS.
The alternative skin prick testing method may be recommended instead which can be done at some hospitals, but this service may become available to you by FANS in the future.
B) If a more delayed-type of allergic reaction typically involving the gut is suspected, diagnosis is made by an avoidance trial of the suspected food allergen.
Advice will be given on the most suitable hypoallergenic infant formula/ milk substitute to use and how to provide a balanced diet free from the suspected allergen.
The trial period usually lasts between 2-6 weeks. This is followed by reintroduction of the food allergen to confirm the diagnosis with a return of symptoms.
• If your infant or child is found to suffer from
atopic conditions such as eczema, asthma or hay fever, or additional
gut symptoms such as gastro-oesophageal reflux or constipation, first line management strategies will be discussed and recommendations made for appropriate medical review
• Once your infant or child’s diagnosis of food allergy has been confirmed, advice will be provided on the management of food allergy. First line management advice will be offered at the initial consultation with further information provided as required during follow up appointments.
• A detailed letter (further 1 hour input) summarising the initial consultation is sent to you, your GP, health visiting team and any other relevant medical staff involved in your child’s care, with request for support/ input/ referral as required. Subsequent letters detailing significant changes as part of follow up will also be sent to relevant parties as necessary.
Follow up appointments will usually last about 30 minutes, but they could also be conducted by email if specific information or feedback is required. Management of food allergies may involve advice supported by individualised literature on any of the following:
- Food avoidance
- Suitable foods/ drinks and substitutes, and review to ensure age-appropriateness
- Reading and understanding food labels
- Weaning advice for infants and timing of introduction of other key food allergens
- Integrating your child’s diet into family meals and exploring potential barriers to doing so
- Assessment of nutritional adequacy and need for any vitamin and/ or mineral supplementation
- Recipes and shopping information
- Advice for schools, parties, eating out, holidays
- Advice on when and how to re-challenge
- Monitoring of growth and development
- Monitoring of atopic or gastrointestinal conditions
- Assessment for presence of possible additional food allergens
How to get a consultation
If you would like your child seen by a dietitian within a few weeks, then a private referral to a specialist paediatric food allergy dietitian such as Dr Lisa Waddell is worth considering. Whilst Lisa is able to see patients who live in the Nottingham area as part of NHS services, there are the inevitable waiting times associated with resource constraints.
If you live further afield or are unable to attend a clinic session but would like to use Lisa’s services, then you will be able to do so via skype or telephone. Certain types of follow up consultations can be managed by email.
Clinic sessions are held at
Rushcliffe Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic, 17-21 High Street, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6DT.
The clinic entrance is situated next to Thomas James estate agents and opposite the road from Barclays bank and the post office.
Please note that the consultation rooms are on the first floor and access is only via stairs.
Free parking is available opposite and on the streets nearby.
Clinic sessions are available on Monday’s and Tuesday’s between 9.30am-1.30pm. Please
contact Lisa to arrange an appointment, once you have completed the online allergy assessment and registered. Certain follow up appointments could be conducted by telephone, Skype or email out of hours on a Monday evening.
Could you please bring your child's red book to the appointment along with any copies of letters from consultants.
Feedback
Please use the
feedback page to let us know what you think about the online assessment tool, the service promised vs the actual service received, and the user friendliness of the website. Did it live up to your expectations? Did it meet your needs? Was it good value for money? We will include some of the comments about FANS in the column once we start to receive some.
Please let us have any photos that you think may help to illustrate the online assessment tool more clearly. You will need to complete a form to confirm that you are happy for us to use the photo on our website. This will be emailed to you.
Testimonials
Comments from Lisa’s NHS allergy work in Nottingham:
‘I didn’t expect to get this level of information or support from a dietitian, thank you’
‘You’re the first person who has understood my child’s problems, it’s such a relief’
‘It’s like I’ve got a different baby, since stopping the milk’