Dr Sara Watkin on a Single Page
MB ChB, MRCP (paeds), FRCPCH, MD
SPECIALIST PAEDIATRICIAN & NEONATOLOGIST
Tel: +1 (345) 326 7827 (mobile) and +1 (345) 745 7450 (clinic)
Email: [email protected]
I wanted those arriving to have a simple page of information about me, Dr Sara Watkin, Paediatrician (Pediatrician) & Neonatologist, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. You’ll find a wealth of information below, including about my baby clinic, children’s clinic and other services.
I am a highly experienced, tertiary trained paediatric and neonatal (newborn) specialist, based out of Grand Pavilion on West Bay Road, with paediatric & neonatal admitting rights at George Town. She has 25+ years experience as a consultant in the United Kingdom, including as Chief of Service at the world-renowned University College London Hospitals.
Book at Appointment
My Practice Information
Paediatrics at Integra Healthcare Ltd
Tel: (345) 745-7450
Fax: (345) 745-7460
Location: Grand Pavilion (Hibiscus Way Entrance), 802 West Bay Road
Mailing Address: Box 934, 10 Market Street, Camana Bay, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-9006
Clinic Fees Information: https://www.integra.ky/clinic-fees-information/
Clinic Times
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Saturday: 9am to 1pm
Although I am available for walk-in appointments, to see me personally it is always better to book. However, as I am supported by two excellent paediatric colleagues, you will almost always be able to see somebody.
Finding My Clinic
We are very easy to find!
https://www.integra.ky/contact/
Book at Appointment
About Me – Paediatrician & Neonatologist
I moved to Grand Cayman in July 2016 to take up post, originally, as Specialist Paediatrician in Camana Bay and Specialist Neonatologist (newborn & preterm care) with full admitting rights to the neonatal unit and paediatric wards at George Town Hospital (HSA). I moved from the UK, where I was Chief of Service for the Neonatal Service at University College London Hospitals, one of the UK’s most prestigious services, having previously been Chief of Service in Nottingham prior to this.
I have more than 23 years experience at consultant-level in UK paediatrics and neonatal medicine, where I gained 9 clinical excellence awards (the maximum number), having attained my specialist registration in paediatrics and undertaken tertiary level training in both paediatrics and neonatal medicine, including within World-famous Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.
GMC REGISTRATION: Full registration July 1987. No: 3120873
SPECIALIST REGISTER: 1996 General Paediatrics
DEFENCE UNION: Medical Protection Society. No: 209948
You can find out much more about my clinical background here: Dr Sara Watkin, Paediatrician, Grand Cayman – detailed
Neonatal, Newborn & Paediatric (Pediatric) Care Services & Conditions
Here are the services I offer as a Specialist Paediatrician (Pediatrician) & Neonatologist in Grand Cayman. You will see that some of the bullets are purple – meaning they link through to more detailed information.
NEWBORN CARE
I am especially experienced in newborn care and a very safe pairs of hands at delivery to ensure no complications or a rapid response if there are. This is followed up with baby clinic appointments and urgent care to address the range of paediatric (pediatric) care and development needs your newborn baby has, especially through the first year of life.
- Attending deliveries
- Baby checks
- Early care
- 1st year of life care
- Breastfeeding advice
- Feeding, nutrition & growth
- Immunisation & vaccination
- Congenital abnormalities
- Wheezing & Breathing Difficulties
That’s not a comprehensive list but it contains most of the more common aspects of care that I provide for. My experience & training means I cover the full spectrum of more complex problems too but these are obviously rare in a population of our size here in Cayman.
NEONATAL CARE
The majority of deliveries in Grand Cayman go without complication. However, birth itself is not 100% predictable and there is a distinct proportion, more for certain types of delivery modes, of infants that need urgent care or admission to the neonatal unit. In Grand Cayman, it is rare for parents to ‘book’ me for neonatal care because it is generally either provided in urgent circumstances or I am brought in by your obstetrician for known complications or concerns. I am the only neonatal specialist with full admitting rights to George Town Hospital for private patients and so if there is a complication it tends to be me! However, I my experience in neonatal medicine is extensive:
- Neonatal resusciation & life support
- Preterm birth from 23 weeks gestation (ELBW – extremely low birth weight, VLBW – very and upwards from there)
- Growth restriction and small for dates
- Birth asphyyxia, including head & body cooling as an intervention
- Respiratory distress, including surfactant administration & all forms of ventilation
- Cardiac and circulatory issues
- Congenital abnormalities
- Newborn infections & immune problems
Over the coming months, I am intending to expand the information available to parents who are at risk of, or who suddenly find themselves with, a preterm infant. We do have an excellent neonatal unit with first class staff here in Cayman.
PAEDIATRIC CARE
I operate a very busy paediatric service that prides itself on the highest standards of paediatric care, fully up-to-date and tailored to the needs of each child and their parents. My children’s clinic appointments are available through the week at convenient times. Conditions covered or services provided include:
- Development, developmental follow up & milestones
- Immunisation & vaccinations
- Ongoing feeding and nutrition advice and conditions
- Allergies and intolerances e.g. Cows Milk Intolerance & nut allergy
- Growth advice and concerns
- Skin, spots, rashes and other blemishes
- Fevers, viruses etc including bronchiolitis
- Asthma, wheezing & exercise intolerance
- Ears, noses, throats & eyes (occasionally these require referrals to ENT or eye specialists too)
- Urgent or emergency care (I have full admitting rights to the GTH paediatric wards and we have an urgent care service in-house too)
Again, it’s not a comprehensive list but it covers most of what we provide. My tertiary training in acute and general paediatrics means that I am able to cover rare and quite complex conditions, so please ask if you don’t see what you need above.
More Information & Booking
Appointment Availability
If you cannot see an Integra appointment slot available, please call us on (345) 745 7450 within office hours, and we will do our best within our capacity.
Appointment Booking with Dr Watkin
Please simply work through the steps on screen. If you are using a smartphone, it helps to turn your screen sideways (landscape). If you have seen Dr Watkin previously, it is likely we have your child’s details in the system. Please use the following information when prompted to do so:
- Your own email (if yours isn’t found, try your spouse’s)
- Your child’s name
- Child’s Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
- Child’s Gender
Services, Conditions & Procedures
Paediatric Services
- General Paediatrics
- Well-Child Assessments
- Developmental Follow-up
- Urgent Care & Advice
- Hospital Admissions
- Growth, Nutrition & Digestive
- Respiratory Problems
- Autistic Spectrum & ADHD
- Lumps, Bumps & Bashes
- Fever, Bugs & Rashes
Newborn (Neonatal) Services
- Attending Deliveries
- Attending C-Sections
- Newborn Complications
- Resuscitation & Emergencies
- Advanced Neonatal Care
- Baby Checks
- Immunisations
- 1st Year of Life
- Respiratory & Neurology
- Referral Management
Dr Watkin Career Highlights
- Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health
- 25+ years at UK Consultant level
- Chief of Service at University College London Hospitals
- UK Advisor on Neonatal Intensive Care National Clinical Reference Group
- Special Interest in Newborn Quality & Safety
Education, Training & Experience
Newborn (Neonatal) Experience
Nottingham City Hospital had 6,000 births and delivered over 3,000 neonatal intensive care and high dependency care days per year. Out of hours, I was on call for both hospitals in Nottingham (10,000 births and 6,000 IC and HD days) and managed both complex neonatal medical and surgical cases.
University College London Hospital is one of the UK leading specialist centres. It has 6,400 deliveries per year with over 1,000 admissions to the Neonatal Unit of extremely sick complex babies requiring in total nearly 6,000 neonatal intensive care and high dependency care days. UCLH has the highest inborn admission rate in the UK for babies born at less than 29 weeks gestation. UCLH has a renowned fetal medicine unit and is the delivery unit for babies who will need future care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This means we took and cared for sick newborns from across the UK with complex problems especially cardiac problems, neurosurgical problems and general surgical problems including diaphragmatic hernias. UCLH is also a designated centre for brain cooling for birth-related newborn brain injury & has a significant number of referral of infants with complex neurological problems.
That probably all sounds rather over-scientific. Yes, it does mean that I have lots of experience in newborn care, including the most complex forms too. The majority of births don’t need that depth but when they do demand it, it’s obviously reassuring to have!
Paediatric Experience
I have full paediatric admitting rights to George Town Hospital and also care for children requiring urgent admission to the paediatric wards. My acute paediatric skills include line insertion and lumber puncture.
I have a broad education in both general and tertiary paediatrics including 10 months training at Great Ormond Street Hospital, as well as Nottingham City Hospital. I covered general paediatrics as registrar in Derby, Nottingham City Hospital and Stoke and as senior registrar in Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. In Stoke I did a general paediatric clinic each week and at QMC I had 2 general paediatric clinics each week, as well as a neonatal follow-up clinic.
In my infant feeding and growth clinic at UCLH, I was referred many patients from the local GPs for advice including children with cow’s milk protein intolerance and food aversion. Following children up for many years until 2 years of age means that I have extensive experience in dealing with problems in this age group, as well as developmental assessment. However, my experience in paediatric care extends right through to adulthood.
Between 2006 and 2010 I undertook frequent paediatric assignments from single weekends to much longer in duration, at both Consultant and Registrar level, in a range of paediatric settings but predominantly in 3 hospitals; Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Horton Hospital and Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Wales. Good paediatrics in somewhere like Cayman is partly about being up-to-date and partly about the right approach when you find yourself sometimes with limited support or back, a challenge facing all smaller islands. Consequently, my experience is not only up-to-date in both acute and general paediatrics but also covers a range of organisational types, from tertiary through to isolated local hospitals and now on our small but lovely Grand Cayman, with its obvious facilities, infrastructure and logistical constraints.
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