Healthcare professionals

Growth hormone disorders are only one of many reasons for abnormal child growth but in 2002 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimated that there were approximately 4,000 children across the UK who were eligible but not currently receiving treatment for growth disorders. This highlights the number of children for whom more could be done to ensure they reach their growth potential.

Best practice
Best practice, as advocated by organisations such as the Child Growth Foundation and the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, is to take multiple measurements of a child’s height. However, the fourth edition of Health for All Children (2004) advocates a more limited screening policy – that a child’s height is only routinely measured once at or around five years old.

As a result, all those involved in the care of children - parents, school health nurses, nursery/primary school teachers, practice nurses, general practitioners, health visitors and paediatricians - need to work together to adopt a more tailored and individual approach to monitoring children’s growth.

N.B. This is an area where policy is currently under review and the Department of Health (DH) guidance directed at English Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) recommends that children should also be measured in year 6 (ages 10-11).

Training toolkit
As part of the Bridging the GAP project, a training toolkit has been developed for healthcare professionals. This toolkit provides information and guidance on:

• Normal growth
• Measuring child growth
• Interpreting the measurements
• Identifying abnormal growth
• Causes of abnormal growth

If you would like more information please contact us at growthinformation@novonordisk.com. 

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