The Mateu Orfila Hospital improves care for paediatric patients in Menorca by expanding the neuropaediatric consultation, thanks to a collaboration agreement with Son Espases. From Friday, 28th March, a specialist from the Balearic Islands’ leading hospital will travel to Menorca once a month to work together with the Paediatrics Service in the diagnosis and monitoring of children and adolescents with cognitive, behavioural, motor, communication and sensory difficulties.
This is a response to a growing demand from families and avoids the need to travel to Mallorca for an initial diagnosis or follow-up visits, which involves a lot of travel for both children and parents. During 2023 and 2024, the neuropaediatricians at Son Espases attended some 45 consultations per year by patients from Menorca.
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The Mateu Orfila Hospital reinforces care for paediatric patients by extending the neuropaediatrics consultation
This improvement was presented today by the manager of the Menorca Health Area, Bernardo Pax, together with the head of the Paediatrics Service, Dr Gabriel Moreno, and Dr Esther Córdoba, the Son Espases neuropaediatrician who travelled to the island today to visit the patients.
The main diseases treated in a neuropaediatric clinic are epilepsies; neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD); or neuromuscular diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy, as well as cerebral palsy or headache, which is one of the most frequent reasons for medical consultation. This speciality treats children and adolescents up to 15 years of age, although in specific cases of very complex illnesses, specialists may recommend maintaining paediatric follow-up until the patient is 18 years of age and make a gradual transition to adult consultation.
The professionals sent from Mallorca will work together with the team of the Paediatrics Service of the Mateu Orfila Hospital in the evaluation and follow-up of cases, following the same collaboration scheme that began in 2013 with the paediatric cardiology speciality and which is still in force today with a monthly consultation by Dr. Sílvia Escribà.
The Paediatrics Service of the Mateu Orfila Hospital is fully staffed, with a team of seven doctors. During 2024, this service attended 3,761 consultations, of which 797 were first visits, and 2,964 were control and follow-up visits. Currently, the average delay for an appointment with Paediatrics is only eight days.
Expansion of the portfolio of services
The expansion of the neuropaediatrics consultation is preceded by the launch, on 20th March, of a new fortnightly allergy consultation. Both cases have been made possible thanks to the collaboration agreement with the Hospital Universitario Son Espases for the transfer of specialists from Mallorca, thus reducing the number of Menorcan patients who have to travel to the reference hospital.