Paediatric Services

About our General Paediatric Services

Paediatrics, or Pediatrics as it is spelt in the US, is a broad specialty that covers a wide range of conditions involving the whole child. Whereas there are paediatricians who specialise in niche areas of paediatrics, they are often located in tertiary centres in major hospitals.

We are very fortunate in our practice to have three tertiary-trained paediatricians, each of whom has special interests, meaning that each of us can draw on the expertise of the other paediatricians if your child has a more unusual or more complex need. This means that we are able to offer a greater breadth of specialist paediatric care than anywhere in the Cayman Islands.

 

COVER FOR HOLIDAYS & ILLNESS

The majority of parents like to develop a relationship with their paediatrician over time, and it is often beneficial for children to become comfortable and relaxed with their paediatrician. However, doctors can be subject to illness and need breaks, just like anyone. In our practice, you gain the best of both worlds – a paediatrician you know and trust and the back up or cover of the team for when they are away.

 

GENERAL PAEDIATRIC TEAM

We have 3 paediatricians, each with special interests, but all of whom provide general paediatric services for children from 0 to 18 years of age. Dr Sara Watkin, also the medical director for our practice, is a tertiary specialist in neonatal and newborn care. Dr Sarah Newton has a special interest in complex conditions and diagnoses. Dr Jasmina Marinova has interests in older children’s conditions and in paediatric skin problems, where she works closely with Dr Alison Duncan, our paediatric dermatologist.

Our Approach to Development

Being the largest private paediatric clinic in Grand Cayman, we are used to seeing and assessing for a wide variety of conditions, whilst also being committed to following your child’s development at every stage of life.

Well-child checks are a vital part of ensuring your child thrives, whilst picking up any issues at the earliest possible stage. Our paediatric team is expert in developmental assessment, an essential component of an effective well-child check. We follow a hybrid of the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule (called the Periodicity Schedule) for well-child follow up, which provides a comprehensive approach:

American Academy of Pediatrics Periodicity Schedule

Besides the more formal aspects of this approach, parents are full of questions about their child’s growth and development. You will find our team always ready to answer questions and our generous appointment times mean you won’t ever feel that you can’t bother ‘a busy doctor’ and there are no such thing as stupid questions.

The well child schedule of appointments is also an opportunity to discuss what may be coming up as milestones and what to keep an eye out for, or even be on guard for.

 

Newborn Care when Experience Matters

We hold particular expertise in this area, as Dr Sara Watkin was Chief of Service for one of the UK’s top tertiary neonatal centres (University College London Hospitals) and is an expert in both preterm care and care of complex newborn problems. There are many infants in the Cayman Islands that owe their lives to Dr Sara due to her expertise in providing neonatal intensive care for babies from 23+ weeks.

However, we are privileged that all three of our paediatricians have trained and worked in tertiary neonatal centres, each having up-to-date newborn resuscitation skills and all of them working smoothly as a team when more hands are required.

 

TEAM MATTERS

Inevitably birth throws up the occasional unexpected emergency and extremely preterm babies are also extremely complicated to handle at birth. We are proud to have the only neonatal medical team led by a fully-qualified tertiary neonatologist, and all of whom live within 5 minutes of George Town Hospital.

The Busy First Year!

The importance of choosing your paediatrician well is never more felt than in the first year of life for your new baby. You get to spend a fair bit of time in our practice even when everything is well.

Our practice is blessed with dedicated paediatric facilities, including a professional paediatric scales platform for weighing and length measurements, plenty of changing facilities, an ample supply of free coffee and even a dedicated breast-feeding room. Our paediatric area is child-friendly, with plenty of toys and our staff are fantastic at handling even the most energetic toddler.

You’ll also find both our paediatric nurses and our practice midwife passionate about helping and guiding you, from breast-feeding issues to sleep concerns and any general questions you have, and you are always welcome, without charge, to come and have your baby professionally weighed and measured.