Kirrawee Family Medical Practice has launched a trial to give parents flexibility in treating their child's respiratory symptoms, and to help ease the pressure off hospitals.
The practice has been approved to run the Sutherland Shire COVID-19 Respiratory Kids Program - an eight-week pilot designed to provide an alternative option to taking a child to the emergency department (ED).
Expressions of interest went out to practices in the shire, and Kirrawee offered to give it a go.
Despite only entering its second week, the clinic is picking up pace, practice owner and GP, Annalyse Crane said.
"It's been slow to start, but we've had more 'likes' on our Facebook page than we've ever had," she said. "We run until there are no more kids to see."
More children with respiratory illnesses, including influenza, respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and RSV have presented to Sutherland Hospital's ED since March 2022.
From the beginning of the year to July 15, a total of 1162 patients presented with respiratory illnesses. About 369 were younger than 14 years of age - 101 of those were diagnosed with COVID-19.
More than 290 patients were younger than four years of age, with 70 diagnosed with COVID-19.
This was more than double in the same period during the previous year, with 476 patients presenting.
"Sutherland Hospital is currently under significant pressure due to high numbers of COVID-19 and flu cases," a hospital spokeswoman said.
"The ED has had a significant increase in respiratory illness presentations compared to the same period last year when there was little to no influenza circulating in the community."
The Kirrawee clinic operates on-site between Monday to Thursday from 5pm-7pm and on Saturday from midday-2pm.
Many children who present to an ED with respiratory symptoms, could be seen by a GP instead, Dr Crane said.
"These kids don't need to be in the ED but they definitely need to be seen," she said.
"Many are not our regular patients. One child we saw had an ear ache. They waited at Bankstown Hospital for six hours, then tested positive to COVID-19. He may have caught it just waiting to be seen."
Although influenza cases have "quietened down", she said, on the rise were croup and bronchiolitis, being driven by parainfluenza or Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
"In the past week we have also seen about half a dozen kids who have adenovirus, which usually presents with conjunctivitis, a runny nose and fever. They end up getting quite sick for days on end," Dr Crane said.
"Most under-five kids will ride it out, but it's the under-two ones who worry us because of their breathing, or if they aren't feeding well."
She says anxiety levels among parents are also common.
"Particularly in first-time mums. Lots of 'COVID-19 babies' haven't been sick, so as soon as their child has a temperature of 40 and has a croupy cough, they just don't know what to do with them," Dr Crane said.
The trial also aims to safeguard other patients in the waiting room.
"If people ring up in the day, we can say bring your sick child during those [after] hours, and then we can consolidate the symptomatic kids," Dr Crane said.
"If we have a 95 year-old in the waiting room, at least it gives some reassurance to the general practice population that they may not encounter as many sick kids in the waiting room."
The practice has had its strongest year of child influenza vaccine uptake. But only about 50 per cent of eligible children in the practice have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Crane says people became reluctant to return for their child's COVID-19 jab doses, despite being eligible, because their child "already had the virus."
Dr Crane is optimistic that this new trial program will be successful.
The out-of-pocket cost is $50, but the clinic's doctors have advanced training - most have a Diploma of Child Health.
"We've modelled ourselves on the old Kareena and St George after-hours service. We have similar resources to an ED for an average viral sick child," she said.
"We have had the odd complaint about why should people pay but we are a private billing practice, and you would usually see someone less junior than us in the ED. We are staffing with two doctors at the moment, so the wait may only be half an hour.
"There is also a lot of new growth in the units in the Kirrawee brick pit. The plan is to have more sites, depending on demand. We have the staffing capacity to do it."
The program is being funded by Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (CESPHN). General Manager of Primary Care Improvement, Brendan Goodger, says they became aware of the high numbers of children presenting to Sutherland Hospital ED with COVID-19 like respiratory symptoms.
"In partnership with the Sutherland Hospital and local GPs we established this new service to better support children and their parents get access to care after hours," he said.
"CESPHN sought interest from general practices within the shire willing to extend their opening hours for children experiencing COVID-19-like respiratory symptoms. Kirrawee Family Medical Practice put up their hand.
"We are delighted at the success of this innovative service which is helping take some of the pressure off the Sutherland Hospital and ensuring kids get access to local GPs.
"CESPHN is providing funding, project support and ensuring that parents are aware of this new service."
Bookings can be made through the HotDoc app.
To address the challenges faced by Sutherland Hospital, the spokeswoman said it was increasing bed capacity where possible, "ensuring all available clinical staff are deployed to the care areas with the highest demand, and improving the timeliness of discharge for patients."
"To further help our health staff we urge the community to keep up to date with all vaccinations...particularly during the winter months," she said.
