Family playing football outside

Children and young people

Within Surrey Heartlands we aim to achieve sustainable, high quality physical and mental health care for women and children that is responsive to diverse local need and affordable to the system.

This will be achieved through working better together with children and their families across the organisations who commission the services and the organisations that provide the services – building on local good practice.

Children’s health needs are met by many different organisations across the Surrey Heartlands system.

Children and Family Health Surrey provide NHS community nursing and therapy services for children and families in Surrey. For details of services, advice and support visit the Children and Family Health Surrey website.

GP’s, health visitors and school nurses are usually a first point of contact for children’s health needs and can signpost into other services if required.

Pharmacy and self-care for minor illnesses

If your child starts feeling unwell, talk to a pharmacist.

Local pharmacists are experts in medicines and are also here to help you and your family.

You don’t need an appointment - just drop in to your local pharmacy for advice about minor illnesses such as colds, coughs, tummy trouble, bruises, bites, stings, headaches, minor cuts and allergies.

Many pharmacies are open late and on weekends. Search online to find a pharmacy open near you.

NHS 111 or your GP for urgent medical help

You can call NHS 111 for free from any phone at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a fully trained advisor who will ask questions to assess your child’s needs.

They can arrange a call back or book a face-to-face appointment with a GP or nurse, a Minor Injuries Unit or book an A&E arrival time if that’s where your child needs to be.

NHS 111 can also give you advice on self-care and medication. Always call 999 in a medical emergency or in a life threatening situation.

Surrey 0-19 Years Advice Line

Call for support from trained staff if you have any questions about your child’s health and development or for advice about parenting.

Call 01883 340922 (local call rate) - lines open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays.

Call a Midwife advice line

Call a Midwife 24/7 urgent maternity triage line is available to anyone who:

  • is 16 weeks pregnant or more
  • has an urgent maternity or newborn related concern that needs immediate midwifery advice
  • has not been discharged by their community midwife.

Our midwives will assess your concerns and direct you to further care if needed.

Call 0300 123 5473

This is available for anyone who is booked with Epsom & St Helier, Ashford & St. Peter’s, and Royal Surrey Hospitals, who:

  • is over 16 weeks pregnant or has recently given birth
  • has not been discharged by their community midwife
  • has an urgent maternity or newborn related concern that needs immediate midwifery advice.

If you have any non-urgent maternity concerns, please contact your community midwife. Call a Midwife does not have the ability to change appointments, issue test results or give out maternity exemption forms.

If you are under 16 weeks pregnant, you may access urgent early pregnancy care through self-referral to early pregnancy services, via your GP, or through NHS 111.

If you have any non-maternity health concerns, please contact your GP, NHS 111, your local pharmacy. For life threatening emergencies call 999 or attend your nearest emergency department.

Call 999 in an emergency

Always call 999 in a medical emergency or in a life-threatening situation.

Help us keep A&E for people who are critically unwell and urgently need our help. Find out more about when you should take your child to A&E or call 999 with this leaflet.

Healthier Together advice services for when your child is unwell

Improving the quality of care for pregnant women, children and young people.

It can be extremely stressful when you or your child is unwell. We know that there is a huge amount of information available at your fingertips, but finding something that provides clear and accurate information is not always easy!

The resources on the Healthier Together website have been developed in partnership between parents and healthcare professionals from across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You'll find clear information on common  illnesses, including advice on what serious 'red-flag' signs to look out for, where to seek help if required, what you should do to keep comfortable and how long symptoms are likely to last.

Healthier Together homepage

Thank you to the team at Healthier Together.

Children’s community health services

Children’s Community Health Services in Surrey comprise a wide range of community-based services that support physical and emotional health and wellbeing amongst children and young people from birth up to 19 years of age and their families and carers. These services focus on:

  • preventing ill health
  • promoting and supporting child development
  • providing targeted and specialist medical, nursing and therapy services.

Children’s Community Health Services are delivered by many different practitioners including:

  • Children’s Community Nurses
  • Children’s Dieticians
  • Children’s Nurses and Healthcare Assistants
  • Developmental Paediatricians (Consultants)
  • Emotional Wellbeing School Nurses
  • Family Nurses
  • Health Visitors
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Paediatric Audiologists
  • Physiotherapists
  • School Nurses
  • Special School Nurses
  • Specialist Health Visitors (PIMHS)
  • Speech and Language Therapists
  • Tongue Tie Practitioners

How do I access services?

The services are for children and young people from birth up to 19 years of age and their parents and carers. They are provided by Children and Family Health Surrey (CFHS) under an alliance agreement between CSH Surrey, First Community Health and Care, and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. You can find out more about the services and getting support for your family at Children's Health Surrey.

The existing contract ends on 31 March 2024 and therefore NHS and Council commissioners are securing a provider for children’s community health services from 1 April 2024. You can find out more about the procurement process on our dedicated Surrey children's community health services procurement page.

Emotional health and wellbeing

Mindworks Surrey is the new emotional wellbeing and mental health service for children and young people in Surrey. The way services are being delivered is being transformed under Mindworks Surrey which is an alliance of NHS and local and national voluntary sector organisations. The focus is on providing the support that children and young people want and need, where they want and need it, and in a way which best suits them.

For more information on emotional wellbeing and mental health services for children and young people visit the Mindworks Surrey website.

24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line

If you are worried about yourself, a friend or your child your young person, call the 24/7 mental health crisis line free on 0800 915 4644.

You can talk with a trained call handler who will provide advice, support and signposting to a range of community services. The line is available for children and young people from the age of six living in Surrey.

Special educational needs and disability (SEND)

A child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities if they have a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means they need special health and education support, we shorten this to SEND.

The SEND Code of Practice 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 gives guidance to health and social care, education and local authorities to make sure that children and young people with SEND are properly supported.

To find out more about SEND services in Surrey, please see the following links:

Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding means protecting a citizen’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. It is an integral part of providing high-quality health care.  Safeguarding children, young people and adults is a collective responsibility.

All staff, whether they work in a hospital, a care home, in general practice, or in providing community care, and whether they are employed by a public sector, private, or not-for-profit organisation, have a responsibility to safeguard children and adults at risk of abuse or neglect in the NHS.

please visit the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership website.

Resources to help look after your children

The Healthy Surrey website provides parents and carers with advice and information on how to manage minor illnesses and injuries in babies and children and clear guidance on when to seek help.

Visit our Learning Disabilities and Autism page for more information on this topic.

Here are the UK Health Security Agency’s top 5 things you can do to help protect your little ones under age five and reduce the risk of infections for your family.

It can be difficult to tell when a baby or toddler is seriously ill, but the main thing is to trust your instincts. The NHS website has a checklist of warning signs that might indicate if your baby or toddler is seriously ill.

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell. If your child does not have coronavirus symptoms or they have had a test and it was negative, follow this NHS advice to check if your child is too ill for school.

Find cost of living advice on the Surrey County Council website.

How much do you know about the NHS?

Support the NHS with this fun activity sheet for children.

How much do you know about the NHS? Activity sheet for children [pdf] 1MB

It’s a simple resource and by completing the three puzzles children will learn a little more about the different ways to keep healthy, people who help them stay physically healthy and how to make informed decisions about health.

If you have any questions or if you want to tell us how you used the activity sheet or send photos (with consent) we’d love to hear from you, please contact the Surrey Heartlands Communications Team:

Contact us