The hidden benefits of patient encounters.

Background: Whilst it is widely acknowledged that health care professionals (HCPs) learn from patient encounters, research exploring what HCPs learn from their meetings with patients is relatively sparse, particularly in the context of postgraduate training. Moreover, there are few research studies that examine the contribution of patient encounters to HCP education from both HCP and patient perspectives. This study set out to explore HCPs learning from patient encounters from both HCP and patient perspectives.

Exploring parental experiences of virtual paediatric neurodevelopmental consultations.

Objective: The coronavirus pandemic resulted in dramatic changes and challenges to healthcare practices. We endeavoured to establish the experiences of families of children attending a neurodevelopmental service after a transition to virtual consultations.

Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were posted to parents of children registered in virtual clinics over a 10-week period.

Catatonia as a feature of down syndrome: An under-recognised entity?

Children and adults with Down syndrome may experience unexplained neurodevelopmental regression leading to considerable diagnostic uncertainty as well as morbidity. In this study we describe a series of seven children with Down syndrome presenting with developmental regression, some of whom had lengthy periods of symptomatology and investigation prior to a final diagnosis of catatonia. While catatonia typically presents with immobility, mutism and posturing, these symptoms can often be overlooked if not recognised as catatonic phenomena.