Nutrition and dietetic service for children with special needs in Luton

The Paediatric Dietetic service is a team of registered dietitians who offer specialist dietary advice and support to families of children and young people aged between 0 to 19 years old.

Our service accepts referrals from GPs, consultants, nurses and other health professionals (eg physiotherapists, speech and language therapists). If your child’s referral cannot be accepted by us you can get support from other teams, including:

• health visitors and community nursery nurses
• local weight management services
• school nurses
• GP practice nurses

Children and their families are seen in clinic, either at the Edwin Lobo Child Development Centre or at a health centre. A choice of dates and times will be offered when booking an appointment.

The service will assess children where there are worries about them:

• gaining weight too slowly
• gaining weight too fast
• not eating many different foods or having to avoid some foods

Your child’s dietitian will undertake a full assessment and provide individual dietary advice on how best to improve their nutrition.

When you stop having appointments with the dietitian you will have a plan to follow at home. Your child can always be re-referred in the future if more advice is needed.

Websites and apps which you may find useful are:

• The British Dietetic Association - look for the Food Fact Sheet link on the homepage for information
• Change for Life website and apps
• Mencap
• The Caroline Walker Trust