The Paeds Round

Constipation is common in children, but talking about poo is not always easy. So how can child health professionals have open conversations with families and help them manage the problem?  In this special "PooCast", Claire Waters, consultant specialist nurse in the children and young people continence service at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, joins host Dr Emma Lim. They discuss fibre and fluids, the connection between constipation and wetting, taking an open and honest history and when investigations or treatment may be needed. Plus, they share useful resources to support families. Guest: Claire Waters is a consultant specialist nurse in the children and young people continence service at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Host: Dr Emma Lim Read the transcript for this epsiode: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-11/The-Paeds-Round-episode-18-transcript.pdf. This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. Explore the resources mentioned in this episode:  Healthier Together - https://sybhealthiertogether.nhs.uk/parentscarers/worried-your-child-unwell/constipation - an NHS partnership project with resources for pregnant women, children and young people, including constipation guidance ERIC - https://eric.org.uk/ - a charity dedicated to improving children's bowel and bladder health, focused on reducing the impact of continence problems on children and their families Bladder and Bowel UK - https://www.bbuk.org.uk/ - a charity that supports families with constipation through various digital resources The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning: https://learning.rcpch.ac.uk/. Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.

Emma and the team are joined by one of the world's leading experts in paediatric food allergy, Professor George du Toit. The panel discuss the diagnosis of allergies, peanut allergy, the potential links between eczema and food allergies, skin-prick testing, breastfeeding and much more. Guest: Professor George du Toit is Professor of Paediatric Allergy at the Evelina London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Kings College London. He has helped establish specialist paediatric clinics focused on food allergy (prevention and treatment), chronic urticaria, and drug allergy. Hosts: Dr Emma Lim and Dr Christo Tsilifis  Read the transcript for this epsiode. This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.

What would you do if you saw a child at school stuffing toast into his backpack so his baby sister could eat, because there was no food at home? With four and a half million children in the UK living in poverty, food insecurity is a growing and deeply concerning issue. It has a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. This week Emma and Christo are joined by Professor Greta Defeyter to go over the effects of food insecurity on child development, the details of food deserts and food swamps, and the practical steps we can take. Guest: Professor Greta Defeyter OBE is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Northumbria University and the founder and director of the Healthy Living Lab. Hosts: Dr Emma Lim and Dr Christo Tsilifis  This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.  

How can paediatricians offer patients with sickle cell disease the best possible care? How do we listen to children and young people, and their families, to help recognise and manage their painful crises? Emma and the team are joined by Dr Subarna Chakravorty, a consultant haematologist, to discuss the NICE guidelines for sickle cell and thalassemia and the management of pain. The panel discusses how children of different ages experience pain differently and why it's important to consider co-morbidities. Guest: Dr Subarna Chakravorty, Consultant Haematologist, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London. Subarna has a special interest in non-malignant haematology and stem cell transplant for haemoglobinopathy and non-malignant diseases. Hosts: Dr Emma Lim and Dr Christo Tsilifis  Download episode transcript This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.  

Antibiotics have a huge impact on delivering health care and reducing mortality – about a third of children in hospitals are taking these medicines – but the threat of antimicrobial resistance is real. Dr Sanjay Patel, a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology, talks to hosts Emma and Christo about its causes and how we can improve antimicrobial stewardship for the benefit of all patients. Download transcript (PDF) This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.  

Children's oral health is in a crisis: it's the most common reason for children to visit a hospital and it's not improving as quickly as we need. Professor Peter Day, paediatric dentist and professor of children's oral health, speaks with us around the stark facts on tooth decay – it affects 10% of three-year-olds and 48% of 15-year-olds – with impact on a child's ability to sleep, eat, talk and go to school, and on the health service – and how community interventions can help. Plus, how supervised tooth brushing can provide economic as well as health benefits. Professor Peter Day is a Paediatric Dentist (in Leeds and Bradford) and Professor of Children's Oral Health at the University of Leeds with interests and expertise in children's oral health research and dental trauma. He speaks with the podcast host and paediatrician, Dr Emma Lim. Download transcript (PDF) This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.  

Our very special guest, the former Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunology, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, joins Emma and Christo to highlight the importance of prevention of infectious diseases and how this could change the future of child health and the NHS itself.  The panel discusses population health in general, children with immunodeficiencies, vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy amongst much else.   Professor Sir Andrew Pollard is Professor of Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and was Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for 12 years until June 2025.   This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland.  The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual.  Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.   Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.   

By the age of 8, one in three children show signs of tooth decay, and this can lead to broader health complications. So, what should paediatricians look out for? Dr Greig Taylor, a paediatric dentist and clinical lecturer, joins Emma and the team to explore the state of children's oral health. They delve into the causes of dental decay and preventative measures. And they highlight the particular needs of immunocompromised children and why children with diabetes face a heightened risk of oral infections. Dr Greig Taylor is a Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Dentistry at Newcastle University and a Specialist Paediatric Dentist at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals Trust. Featuring: Dr Greig Taylor, Dr Emma Lim and Dr Christo Tsilifis   Download full transcript (PDF) This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.  

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is very common and can cause disease ranging from mild upper respiratory tract infections to bronchiolitis, pneumonia or even death. In the UK, intensive care wards in the winter are extremely busy and 20,000 to 30,000 children are hospitalised with RSV each year. This is a disease that causes a huge burden in infants both in the UK and globally. Dr Simon Drysdale, a consultant in paediatric infectious disease, joins our hosts Dr Emma Lim and Dr Chisto Tsilifis to discuss the maternal RSV vaccine, which has been rolled out across the UK, plus advances in research and other recently licensed vaccines. RCPCH had a significant role in ensuring the RSV immunisation programme was introduced in the UK following publication of the JCVI's recommendation to develop one. In March 2024, we published an open letter signed by over 2,000 members urging the UK Government to implement a full RSV immunisation programme for both infants and adults across the UK. Our letter generated media coverage and UK parliamentary attention with MPs and Peers supporting our calls. As a result of our campaign, we welcomed announcements from all four UK governments confirming the rollout of new RSV programmes for infant protection from August 2024 in Scotland, and September for Northern Ireland, Wales and England. Dr Simon Drysdale is Consultant Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist at Oxford Children's Hospital and a Senior Lecturer in Vaccinology at the University of Oxford.  This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Medisense. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.

The NHS has a large carbon footprint. So how can we as child health professionals help lower the environmental impact of delivering healthcare? Today's guest on The Paeds Round, Dr Emily Parker, RCPCH Clinical Fellow and paediatric junior doctor in Newcastle speaks with host Dr Emma Lim on how we can all make a difference. Emily and Emma discuss the surprisingly high carbon footprint of liquid medicines, how to optimise asthma care to reduce medication use and the benefits of dry powder inhalers over metered-dose inhalers. They also look at how to advocate for better air pollution management, which help prevent diseases like asthma. Dr Emily Parker is RCPCH Clinical Fellow with the Clean Air Fund Partnership and a paediatric junior doctor at the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle. Download transcript (PDF) This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Medisense. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual. Subscribe to The paeds round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.  Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.