Transition from Paediatric to Adult Services

This site is intended for healthcare professionals as a useful source of information on the diagnosis, treatment and support of patients with lupus and related connective tissue diseases.
What is transition?

In a hospital, transition is the process of moving a young person's care from the paediatric (child) service to the adult service and thinking about ways to help them with this. Becoming a young adult can be an exciting time with many changes and opportunities such as

• Going to a new school or college

• Going to university

• Getting a job

• Making new friends

As you become a young adult, the children's hospital may no longer be the best place for you to have your treatment. As you are growing up you may feel ready to move on to a more adult setting.

Some people feel very ready for this, for others, it can be hard to leave behind the things they are familiar with and to move on to new places and challenges.

When will I transition?

The point at which care moves to an adult service will be different for each person depending on a number of factors including

• Your current treatment

• How well you are at present (whether you are in the middle of a flare)

• Your life plans (are you moving away to go to university)

• The specifics of your local paediatric and adult services

It will be important for you to discuss the best time you to transition with your medical team. For lots of people it is around the time they are 18. It is likely that medical team will start talk to you about transitioning when you are much younger than this so that you work together to identify where you will transition to and what support you might need to ensure this happens smoothly.

What might Adult Services be like?

Adult services can be quite different to paediatric settings and it is important that you know how to find out more about what the adult services you will use will be like.

Some have dedicated adolescent/young adult clinics that are designed to support young people moving up from children's services. The clinic slots might be a bit longer and they will be used to supporting people who are new to adult services.