Paediatric HIV Service

Paediatric HIV Service
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The Paediatric HIV Service, Positive Kids and Camp Goodtime

About the HIV Service

The Paediatric HIV Service at Sydney Children's Hospital works with children, families and pregnant women living with HIV. It is the only service of its kind in Australia and provides medical management, psycho-social support, research, consultation and education.

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HIV Service Team Memebers

A/Prof John Bernard Ziegler (MB BS, FRACP, MD, DipHEd, FAAAAI)

Professor Ziegler is Head the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and of the HIV Service, and is Associate Professor of Paediatrics, University of NSW. He was cofounder of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine, its first secretary and has served as President. He chairs the Immunoglobulin Users Advisory Group for NSW Health. He has served as consultant on perinatal transmission (breast feeding) of HIV to WHO in Geneva and on management of paediatric HIV in Malaysia and has been a UNICEF consultant on paediatric HIV to Indonesia.

Publications include more than 120 peer reviewed papers, invited papers and book chapters in clinical immunology, rheumatology, HIV medicine, paediatric pain, 14 reports for government and other bodies.

Major contributions in HIV include the first description of mother-to-infant transmission of HIV during breast feeding and the definition of the risk of HIV via breast feeding during maternal seroconversion. Dr Ziegler was instrumental in the setting up of surveillance mechanisms for perinatal exposure to HIV.

Current research interests include genetics of congenital immune deficiency disorders, and epidemiology and diagnosis of severe food allergy in Australian children. HIV research objectives include studies to define the frequency, character and specificity of anti-HIV immune responses present in infants and children exposed perinatally to HIV and genetic and other factors affecting the risk of perinatal transmission. He has compared the methods used in Holocaust denial with those used in attempts to refute a relationship between HIV and AIDS. He has studied the use of humour in medical teaching.
Dr Pam Palasanthiran
Angela Miller (BSW, MSD)
Hi, my name is Angela and I'm a senior social worker with the Paediatric HIV Service at Sydney Children's Hospital. I've been with the service since 2003. Prior to commencing at the hospital I worked with kids in long-term care, child protection and disability services in Sydney and London. I really love the variety that this role provides and hope to further develop our support based services for kids and families living with HIV over the next few years. I'm also really interested in working with services in other parts of the world as they develop psycho-social services within their HIV programs.
Dr Asha Bowen (BA, MBBS, DCH)
Hi! My name is Asha and this year I am working as the Infectious Diseases Fellow at Sydney Kids. You will definitely get to meet me at clinic appointments! It takes about 8 - 10 years for a doctor to be trained to be a Paediatrician with lots of exams and assessments along the way. I am in my 6th year of this whole process and am really enjoying all the patients I meet and care for with the Infectious Diseases team. I spend a lot of my time at the hospital, but outside I love to run, swim, cook, travel and hang out with my family and friends. I look forward to meeting you in the near future.
Dr Tony Walls (MB ChB, FRACP, MD)
A Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases with an active interest in HIV medicine. He qualified as a General Paediatrician in New Zealand before moving to the UK in 2002 to complete Infectious Diseases training. He trained at the Royal London Hospital, and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children before beginning work at Sydney Children's Hospital in July 2007. His research interests include viral infections in immunocompromised children, and childhood tuberculosis. He continues to be involved with the Children's HIV Association (UK) programme in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, assisting with the rollout of antiretroviral therapy in children.

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Events

Camp Goodtime

Each year since 1990, the service has facilitated Camp Goodtime, the national camp for children and families living with HIV.

The aims of Camp Goodtime are to:

Facilitate communication between and within families living with HIV
Reduce the isolation experienced by these families
Provide a recreational and therapeutic environment where children and parents can share experiences with others in similar circumstances
Provide a venue where information about the medical, social and other aspects of HIV can be shared and where new ways of coping with the virus can be learned

Children are supervised by volunteers and spend their time participating in a range of fun activities, whilst parents participate in a workshop program. The whole camp comes together for important events such as a remembrance ceremony. The quilt project is also in attendance.

Positive Kids Camps

In addition to Camp Goodtime, a camp is held each year for HIV positive primary school aged children and another for HIV positive teens. These camps aim at teaching a new skill, increasing confidence, increasing HIV knowledge, providing support and fostering peer networks.

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Volunteers

Volunteers are recruited each year to work with the children at Camp Goodtime. Volunteers attend a training weekend prior to attending the Camp. To find out more about volunteering at Camp Goodtime, contact the social worker on:

tel: (02) 9382 1851
email: angela.miller@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au

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Make a donation

Camp Goodtime does not receive any government funding, instead we rely solely on fundraising events, sponsorship and donations. To make a donation, please contact the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation on (02) 9382 1188 to find out more.

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