Scheduled Care

At Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), we understand that coming to hospital can be worrying for children, young people and families. Our teams work hard to make every visit as safe, supportive and comfortable as possible. This page explains what you can expect when attending CHI for scheduled (planned) care, and how to prepare for your visit.

What to Expect When You Come to Children’s Health Ireland for Scheduled Care

At Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), we know that coming to hospital can feel worrying for children, young people and families. Our teams work hard to make your visit as safe, supportive and comfortable as possible. Below is some information about what you can expect when attending CHI for scheduled (planned) care.

Each specialty and sub-specialty at Children’s Health Ireland is unique, and this means that your child’s clinical journey through the hospital may look different depending on their care needs. Some children may attend for a single appointment or day procedure, while others may require multiple visits, tests or longer stays.

Care pathways, waiting times and the professionals involved can vary across services. While experiences may differ, we hope the information provided here offers helpful guidance that is relevant to all children, young people and families, and supports you in planning for your visit to CHI. Your appointment letter will contain more specific information in relation to your appointment.

Page contents

On this page you will find information about:

What to Expect When You Come to Children’s Health Ireland for Scheduled Care
What is scheduled care?
Waiting lists
Appointments
Who Is Involved?

What is scheduled care?

Scheduled care (or planned care) is non-emergency, pre-booked medical procedures, consultations, or surgeries, such as outpatient appointments or elective surgeries.

Before Your Appointment

You will receive information in advance about your child’s appointment, including the date, time and location. We have several outpatient clinic areas at across CHI – your appointment letter will tell you where your child’s clinic is being held and what time you are expected. Appointment letters are generally sent no earlier than six weeks before the appointment.
Please read any instructions carefully, such as fasting requirements or bringing medications.
If you or your child feels unwell before the appointment, contact the department using the details provided in your letter.

Arriving at CHI

Please arrive on time and allow extra time for parking, registration and finding your clinic.
On arrival, you may be asked to check in at reception and confirm your details.
Staff are available to help guide you to the correct area.

During Your Visit

Your child will be cared for by a multidisciplinary team, which may include doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. Your appointment letter will usually give the name of the consultant caring for your child. Our consultants work in teams with other doctors, called registrars or specialist registrars. We cannot guarantee that you will always see the consultant, but we can assure you that the consultant is kept fully informed of the results of appointments and tests.
We will explain what is happening at each stage and encourage children and young people to ask questions.
We do our best to keep clinics running to time but sometimes we can overrun if a doctor needs longer to explain a condition or treatment to another family. We will let you know if your child’s appointment is running late
The doctor may arrange to see your child again – when this is scheduled depends on their individual needs and circumstances – this and following appointments are usually called ‘follow up’ or ‘review’ appointments and may not be for the same length of time as the first appointment. Your child might come back to CHI for an inpatient admission (including an overnight stay) or a day case admission (just for the day) and your doctor will discuss this with you in detail.

Parents, Guardians and Carers

A parent or guardian is usually expected to attend with the child or young person.
In some areas, limits may apply to the number of people who can attend an appointment. This helps us maintain a calm and safe environment for everyone.
Please speak to staff if you have specific needs (including sensory considerations for your child, if you need translation services or a sign language interpreter, or if you have other specific requirement) or concerns.

Keeping Everyone Safe

Hand hygiene stations are available throughout the hospital sites - please use them regularly.
Our staff follow strict safety and infection prevention measures.
If additional precautions are needed, staff will explain these to you.

Going Home

Before you leave, staff will explain any next steps, follow-up appointments or care needed at home. We encourage you to ask questions, to ensure you understand.
You will be given contact details if you have questions after your visit.

Waiting lists

Waiting for Appointments and Treatment at Children’s Health Ireland

Sometimes children and young people need to wait for an appointment, a test, or treatment. Hospitals follow national guidelines to manage waiting lists, ensuring a consistent and standardised approach to scheduling and patient prioritisation. Data on waiting lists is published nationally, on the National Treatment Purchase Fund website.

Keeping Waiting Lists Fair and Accurate

The waiting list process ensures that all children are treated fairly. Patients are prioritised by clinical need first and then scheduled by length of time waiting.

What Happens Step by Step

Referral – Your GP or hospital doctor refers your child.
Waiting – Your child is added to the waiting list. With the new Electronic Healthcare Record, you will have full, transparent access to see exactly where your child is positioned on their waiting list (Currently our teams work with very old and not-fit-for-purpose systems and it's not possible to share this information in every specialty)
Checking In – You may be contacted to confirm your details and if your child still needs care
Appointment or Offer – Your child is given a date or, in some cases, offered care in another hospital.
Treatment – Your child receives their appointment or treatment.

Referrals Made Simple

When your GP or hospital doctor makes a referral to CHI, the referral is added to the waiting list and sent to the clinician for review. Once the referral is accepted, families receive a letter informing them of same.
CHI teams work hard to ensure patients are seen as quickly as possible. If you are worried about your child or their condition has deteriorated while waiting for treatment, please contact your GP or local ED.
See here for guidance on when to bring babies and children to the ED.

What Your Child’s Waiting Status Means

Your child will be in one of these groups which are aligned with national NTPF (National Treatment Purchase Fund) waiting list management:

Active – waiting for an appointment or treatment date.
Has Appointment / Come In (TCI) – your child has been given a date for their appointment or procedure.
Suspended – waiting is paused for a short time (for example, if your child is unwell, unavailable, or receiving care through another approved programme).

While you are waiting

During the time you may be waiting for an appointment, CHI will check in with families through a validation process. This is facilitated and required by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) across all public hospitals.

This can be through a letter or a phone call. Validation checks that all contact details are up- to-date and that the appointment is still needed. It helps to keep waiting lists correct and avoid missed appointments.

Appointments

Appointments are scheduled by clinical need first and then scheduled by length of time waiting. In line with national guidelines, you usually receive two to six weeks' notice of your child’s appointment. Short notice appointments may be offered; these are usually made via a telephone call. Your child may be offered an appointment in any of the CHI hospitals at Connolly, Crumlin, Tallaght and Temple Street where our clinicians work cross-site.

We understand that it’s not always possible to attend an appointment. If you cannot attend, please let us know as soon as you can by calling the number on your appointment letter. Letting us know means we can offer the appointment to another child or young person who may be waiting. If your child still needs to be seen, we’ll reschedule their appointment in turn. However, if we do not hear from you and the appointment is missed, your child may be removed from the waiting list.

Thank you for your support in helping us reduce missed appointments.

Extra Appointments and Treatments

Sometimes extra funding is used to help see more children sooner
All suitable options for access to care are considered by CHI to provide the soonest treatment possible. This is based around clinical suitability and patient requirements.
This may mean:
Extra clinics or procedures in public hospitals, or
An offer of treatment in another hospital, including a private hospital.
If this happens, the relevant CHI team will check that it is safe and suitable and will contact you to explain the options.

Who Is Involved?

Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) – leads on and provides care for children and young people.
Health Service Executive (HSE) – runs health services in Ireland.
National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) – is an independent public body which produce Protocols describing the processes that must be followed by each hospital. They arrange treatments for longest waiting patients and provide independently assured waiting list information nationally.

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