These are Some of the Child care setting in the Malta Community

The Well baby clinic

Doctors from the Primary Child Health and Immunisation Unit carry out Well Baby Clinics in all Health Centres on a daily basis according to a fixed timetable. Mothers who deliver their babies at Mater Dei Hospital are invited to bring their baby to the Well Baby Clinic by appointment. These clinics serve the purpose of clinical examinations and developmental assessments for babies between the ages of 6 weeks and 18 months. Three routine visits are carried out at 6 weeks, 8 months and 18 months respectively. This service is also offered to babies born in private hospitals or at home and in this case, parents are requested to phone the Health Centre in their area for details of the day when Well Baby Clinic is held in that Centre. Appointments can be made by phone with the Clinic nurse.

The Child Development Assessment Unit (CDAU), part of the Ministry of Health cater for children when still babies, assesses the needs of children in a trans-disciplinary way.

Pre-Primary – Kindergarten

Pupils can be assessed by the educational psychologists of the Directorate for Educational Services in order to identify the particular educational needs of each pupil and recommend the service and whether support is needed. The Statementing Moderating Panel ensures that appropriate provision is made for each pupil with special needs.

The States School

The State’s School Psychological Service can provide a psycho educational assessment and intervention service for pupils and pupils with special needs due to physical, mental, perceptual, emotional and behavioural difficulties. These collaborate with CDAU on the assessment and identification of pupils with special needs.

Services available in mainstream schools are also available in special schools and for the pupils attending these schools. However, generally these schools cater more for pupils who have more demanding needs and more severe difficulties.

In Malta we have 4 Resource Centers for children and adolescents with special needs, these include:

• San Miguel (Pembroke) is a primary school for children between 3-13 years of age
• Guardian Angel (Hamrun) is a secondary school for children who don’t have many medical problems like autistic, Down’s syndrome etc.
• Helen Keller (Qrendi) secondary school for children with more special medical needs like tracheostomy, tube feeds etc.
• Dun Manwel Attard (Wardija) for adolescents between 16-23 with autism or Down’s syndrome etc.

***Some children with disability go in the mainstream schools (inclusive education) and have LSA’s but they make use of the above resource Centers only for the services (part-time) like pool, computer room, multi sensory room etc

***Some children with disability go full time in the above special schools

These special schools caters for full time student and services as well

Professionals working in special needs school;

• San Miguel and Helen Keller have their own residential speech therapist
• Occupational therapists (CDAU)
• Physiotherapists (San Miguel and Helen Keller)
• Orthotics
• Clinical nutritionist
• Dietician
• Nurses

The Child Guidance Clinic (CGC)

The CGC is situated at St. Luke’s Hospital, Guardamangia. It provides psychiatric multi disciplinary services for children through clinical assessment and follow-up. Assessment administered by psychologists and psychiatrists includes clinical interviewing and the use of psychometric testing in order to identify the strengths of the child, areas which require further support, and whether there exists a learning disability requiring early intervention. The social workers play an important role in liaising with other agencies including Appo??, Sedqa and A??ess and in carrying out home visits or assisting the child within the school context.

Spectrum of problems seen at the child guidance unit

• Emotional disturbances
• Behavioural problems
• Hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders that require medications
• Autistic spectrum disorders
• Social and psychiatric problems

CHILD CARE CENTRES

In Malta we have 11 Child Care Centers (funded by the government) from were ‘impairments’ can be picked up and brought to the attention of the paediatricians.

DOWN’S SYNDROME CLINIC

This clinic is available in Malta for down’s children of over 16 years of age, every Saturday

Young People’s Unit (YPU)

The YPU caters for 8 children, 4 males and 4 females and is purposely situated outside the gates of Mount Carmel Hospital closer to the main road leading up to the hospital. It caters for persons under the age of sixteen who have psychiatric and developmental problems that cannot be catered for outside the Mental Health Services. The aim of care is to facilitate recovery and to support the uptake of psychosocial skills in order to return to everyday life within the community. Young people are referred for admission through the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC). The admission age is between 8 to 16 years. There are several procedures within the ward that are anchored in medico-legal and ethical guidelines and thus are followed during the child’s stay in the ward. The unit benefits from an interdisciplinary team approach. Nurses provide a family and home atmosphere when following the care plans that are carefully based on behavioural care programmes.

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