An ADHD pilot project at Wallsend set to treat more than 100 children in its first year is making a case to become a permanent clinic. Login or signup to continue reading The program, which treats children aged six to 12, opened in September last year. The Minns government committed $7.
7 million to the program, which included a second clinic in western NSW. The Newcastle clinic has since treated 70 children and is on track to treat another 100 children by the year's end. An outreach clinic will open in Tamworth at the end of this month, and more are planned in the Hunter New England district.
The NSW Ministry of Health and an independent body are evaluating the pilot program to consider whether it should continue and be further expanded. Heidi Goldsmith, a staff specialist paediatrician at the clinic, said "we want it to keep going and it needs to keep going I think". The Wallsend clinic's waitlist for children aged six to 12 seeking treatment for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is about 300.
The condition affects about one in 20 children in NSW. Dr Goldsmith said the program was working through the waitlist, based on who had been waiting the longest. "There's a lot of demand for paediatricians to see kids and families struggling with behavioural or developmental concerns," Dr Goldsmith said.
Dr Goldsmith said maximising sleep, managing screen time, exercise, diet and giving the patient a chance to talk were part of ADHD treatment, along with medication. A Sen.
