Pediatricians or GP?

[wannamove]

I have 2 year old and we took her to Kinder Clinic on the East Coast. Let us just say it was not what I am exactly looking for.

Do family doctors/GP take care of kids as young as 2? Are there any disadvantages by not choosing a pediatrician - I am talking about normal colds, vaccines and not any major/chronic health ailment

And while I am on it - any pediatrician/family Dr recommendations in the Upper East Coast area?

[taxico]

GPs in singapore will see any patient but when in doubt, they should (and usually would) err on the side of caution and recommend referrals.

pediatricians are generally (especially dual-trained internists), better trained and equipped to diagnose diseases in our young but generally speaking, any GP can do the same for their minor ailments and common problems.

however unlike north american pediatricians (my sister saw her ped until she was 21 and was eventually advised to find another doctor), there is no "long term" relationship fostered between a child and his/her singapore paediatrician because the latter is not a primary care doctor.

and because they are specialists, the cost of seeing a singapore paed for common illnesses is probably prohibitive if uninsured - ouch.

such relationships are better formed with your local GP albeit as generalists they are probably more used to seeing adults and may not afford your child with the care you'd expect.

[wannamove]

GPs in singapore will see any patient but when in doubt, they should (and usually would) err on the side of caution and recommend referrals.

pediatricians are generally (especially dual-trained internists), better trained and equipped to diagnose diseases in our young but generally speaking, any GP can do the same for their minor ailments and common problems.

however unlike north american pediatricians (my sister saw her ped until she was 21 and was eventually advised to find another doctor), there is no "long term" relationship fostered between a child and his/her singapore paediatrician because the latter is not a primary care doctor.

and because they are specialists, the cost of seeing a singapore paed for common illnesses is probably prohibitive if uninsured - ouch.

such relationships are better formed with your local GP albeit as generalists they are probably more used to seeing adults and may not afford your child with the care you'd expect.

Thank you for the clarification - makes sense

[merichan]

I just speak from experience and I must add I have a daughter who's rarely sick ( well it rarely goes beyond the common cold treated with a tad of panadol and zyrtec lol)

But I haven't brought her to see a ped in more than 5 years now... she is seen by the regular GP and it's going fine this way.

I guess it also depends on your needs, the need of your child.

[Mad Scientist]

What I did when our kids were very young, we went around the neighbourhood and go for the GP that treats kids more than the other. Usually it is from word of mouth OR you can observe some clinic there will be alot of children with their parents waiting to see the GP. Usually this kind clinic has more experience and familiar with the common treatment of children illnesses and it will not break the bank. A pediatrician will cost an arm and a leg for those common illnesses

[wannamove]

I just speak from experience and I must add I have a daughter who's rarely sick ( well it rarely goes beyond the common cold treated with a tad of panadol and zyrtec lol)

But I haven't brought her to see a ped in more than 5 years now... she is seen by the regular GP and it's going fine this way.

I guess it also depends on your needs, the need of your child.

Thanks! I am going to visit a regular GP when she is due for her next round of vaccines or sickness and see how it goes from there

[x9200]

GP vs PED has this clear disadvantage that it has no sick/non-sick slots so if you just go for a check up / vaccination you may end up with a sick child after such visit. If your kid is older than 2y it probably dies not matter.

[mumfromOz]

When I lived in the East Coast, we saw Dr Cecilia Tan. She was thorough.
Not sure if this is helpful at this stage!

[snowqueen]

My son is 3 years old now and I've been to a few different Pediatricians and GPs. At first I used to go the the SBCC at Thomson because they were his Drs when he was born but it was always a hassle to get there. The clinic has now moved to Novena Medical Centre and I have been back there a couple of times since but only because my son had a bad ear infection.

I think you need to try different ones out to see what you like. The Dr who was originally at Thomson is now at the Thomson Pediatric clinic in 112 Katong. I have been to a couple of GPs on the East Coast but the one I like the most is Bethesda Medical Centre in Suntec. We took my son there on the weekend because he had tonsilitis and was mis-diagnosed at another Drs a few days before. I've always found the Drs there to be very good, very patient and take their time to find out what's wrong.

As it was a weekend it was fairly quiet but it does get busy during the week with office employees working in Suntec going to get their MCs for their sick day.

[wannamove]

Snowqueen,
Can you share the name of the Dr. at 112 Katong - the location would work great for me

Thank you

[snowqueen]

Snowqueen,
Can you share the name of the Dr. at 112 Katong - the location would work great for me

Thank you

Hi, here's the link which has the name of the Drs, addresses and opening hours. http://www.thomsonmedical.com/tp_ctr.htm

The one at 112 Katong is Dr Anita Menon. It's at B1 Level, on the left hand side before you get to Cold Storage. Tel: 6258 3353 / 6352 9100.

I saw her when she was at SBCC at Thomson Hospital, she replaced Dr E K Ong who went on to set up his own practice at Mount E, he's also quite good but when he was a TMC, his practice was crazy busy, he was a good Dr but I hated being surrounded by a room FULL of sick kids, maids, parents and grandparents and whoever felt like coming along for the ride. Sorry I digressed there a bit.

Hope this helps, anything else, just ask.

[wannamove]

Thanks a lot Snowqueen

[SunshineSheens]

IMO it's better to go for a Pediatrician than a GP. For vaccines, I'm not sure if this applies to most clinics/hospitals but Raffles Children's Centre offers vaccination packages which is very convenient as the PF of the doctor is included already in the package.

If you're looking for a pediatrician, I highly recommend my son's pedia, Dr. Veronica Toh. She's very caring and thorough which I really like and won't rush you