Children's HIV family services

About

We are the largest family HIV clinic in the UK. We are very aware that this chronic infection affects parents and children, so our ethos of care is to support families as far as possible to stay well, get on with their lives, and not be held back by HIV.

Clinics are held twice a week in children’s outpatients and parents and children receive 'one-stop shop care'.

Rapid tests for HIV are available through our clinical nurse specialist team and we also provide postnatal testing for babies born to HIV-positive mothers.

Additional information

Clinical trials and research

Children and families attending the clinic will be offered to participate in relevant clinical trials: including trials of new treatments run by the Paediatric European Network for the Treatment of AIDS, trials of immune responses to HIV (CHERUB UK); and any other trials as they come up. All participation is voluntary.

Further online resources

• The CHIVA website 

Clinics

Our children's HIV family service holds clinics at St Mary's Hospital.

Family HIV service

Address

Paediatric outpatients
Sixth floor
Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother (QEQM) building
St Mary's Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Hours

10.00 to 13.00, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 6349
Email: family.clinic@nhs.net

Drop-in nurse-led service

Accessible all day, Monday through Friday by direct arrangement with the nurses.

Contact the team on 020 3312 6095 / 6946.

Contacting our clinic in an emergency

For out of hours please contact grand union ward on 020 3312 6465 and ask for the attending consultant for infectious diseases or the paediatric registrar on call.

Meet the team

Our children's HIV family service is managed by a team of consultants and clinical nurse specialists.

Consultants in paediatric infectious diseases

Dr Caroline Foster
Dr Hermione Lyall, clinical director, children's services  
Dr Gareth Tudor-Williams

Clinical nurse specialists

Paula Seery
Alice Walley
Sophie Raghunanan

Clinical psychologists

Dr Francesca Mathias
Dr Anita Freeman

Paediatric physiotherapist

Annette Coomer

Paediatric dietitian

Shalina Meah

Patient information

Find out what to expect when you come to hospital for your appointment at our children's HIV family service.

Before your appointment

We usually see patients within one week of referral. Parents/caregivers should attend this clinic with their child.

Any patient transferring from other hospitals are asked to bring letters or any other relevant documentation if this is available.

Mothers with babies should bring their ‘red books’.

During your appointment

We run a multidisciplinary service with input from different professionals and visit times may vary greatly depending on each child's individual needs.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

After your appointment

Each patient will be given a follow-up appointment. Time between appointments will vary according to patients' individual needs.

All patients should receive a letter within a month of their appointment, however in some cases the nurses will ring patients with results.

Referrals

Find out how to refer patients to our children's HIV family service.

GP and secondary care

Please use NHS e-Referrals to refer a patient to our children's HIV family services, which can be accessed via children's infectious diseases clinic on NHS e-Referrals.

GP advice

If you have questions about a patient or a referral, please call 020 3312 6349/6095/6946

Out of hours please contact grand union ward on 020 3312 6465 and ask for the attending consultant for infectious diseases or the paediatric registrar on call.