Dr Nicoletta Hay
MBBch (Wits) , FCPaed (SA)
Dr Hay is a General Paediatrician based in Morningside Clinic, Johannesburg.
Educated at the University of the Witwatersrand, I have almost 20 years experience as a paediatrician – and have personal experience as a mother. I have 2 teenage children.
I enjoy General Paediatrics immensely – and love the Neonatal period the most.
At KidsMed , our mission is to provide quality comprehensive healthcare services to all infants and children. We are committed to provide excellent and current diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative healthcare – with efficient referral to sub- specialists should this be necessary.
Dr Britta McLaren
MBChB (UCT), FCPaed (SA), MMed (Paed), Dip Allerg (SA)
Dr McLaren is a paediatrician and mom to Rachel and Jax – who have added insight to my paediatric practice in more ways than I could ever have imagined!
I am a general paediatrician and have special interests in breastfeeding challenges, allergy, neonatology and infectious diseases. I also have a diploma in allergology (allergy) and offer paediatric allergy assessments, work-up and immunotherapy.
While offering up-to-date, evidence based care, I am a naturalist at heart and try to avoid unnecessary interventions and treatment as far as possible and offer a balanced wholistic approach to child health.
I am currently pursing a fellowship in paediatric neurology at wits university and look forward to consulting in this capacity soon.
I believe that availability to patients is important and my patients have many avenues of access to me, with a very open door policy.
Many parents are interested in coming in to meet our team before their baby is born and we are more than happy to arrange this. If your baby is already born or your children are older, we are equally available to assist you.
I love what I do; helping children to get and stay healthy.
Why KidsMed?
Whether you come to me for a single consultation, or wish to develop an ongoing relationship, I am here to help.
Services range from general medical and developmental checkups, to the investigation and management of complex paediatric conditions. We also run a fully comprehensive immunisation clinic – and offer an eye screen which is newly available is South Africa. The early detection of visual disturbances is vital to future development.
Our objective is to ensure that every infant and child should have same day access to the practice for emergencies. This sometimes means that appointments run well into the evening but we endeavour to see all emergencies. However, for this reason, standard non-urgent medical and developmental check ups are staggered – and it is best to book these well in advance.
We try hard not to run late – I realise that your time is valuable- however some days are unpredictable and this may not be avoided. Our experienced front staff attempt to juggle this but it is best to call the rooms prior to your appointment to check before leaving home.
In addition, Morningside Clinic has a good Emergency Room service which is open to patients 24 hours a day – and the emergency doctors have constant access to the paediatrician on call should there be an emergency in the middle of the night.
When should you call us?
Many times, people are unsure as to when to make contact with their paediatrician. I would firstly like to comment that I have never had a parent miss a serious condition – trust your instincts. However, there are a few key symptoms – please contact us( or go through to the ER) if:
Your baby has a fever and is under 2 to 3 months
A fever that lasts for longer than 3 days and is not settling in height or frequency
A fever accompanied by other worrying symptoms such as a rash, abnormal breathing, extreme lethargy, persistent vomiting or severe diarrhoea particularly if there is blood.
A fever and recent travel to a Malaria area
Coughing for longer than a week
Earache
Weight loss
More reading
And finally, there are an abundance of ‘Old Wives Tales’ out there – and especially in South Africa with our heterogenous society. In addition there are many websites giving advice to parents – many unauthored by experts. At KidsMed we subscribe whole heartedly to the concept of Evidence Based Medicine. If you would like access to reliable information, I suggest the following websites:
- The American Academy of Paediatrics (aap.org)
- The Nemours Foundation for Chidren’s Health (kidshealth.org)
- The Centres for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov)
Physiotherapy
Low muscle tone seems to be the new buzz word – most people know somebody whose child has been diagnosed with this condition, but what does it mean?
Newborn Advice
Congratulations on this wonderful occasion! I am sure that at this moment you are feeling excited, tired and more than a little anxious! All new parents feel exactly the same – and I have put together a few tips to assist you in these first couple of weeks.
We have a breastfeeding and lactation consultant based at our practice.
Sr Lee-Ann Moolman. Tel 010 786 0933 or email her on sister@kidsmed.co.za.
Dietician
The timing of introducing complementary feeding (foods other than breast milk or infant formula) should be no earlier than 17 weeks of age and no later than 26 weeks.
Occupational Therapy
Some babies and children are seen to be more ‘fussy’ or ‘difficult’ and it is often due to ineffective processing of their sensory systems which may make them more sensitive to input such as touch.
Contact us
Send a Query
There are two types of referral open to patients: self-referral or through your GP. Self referral is simple: just call our office directly and and an appointment will be made for your child to see Dr. Hay or Dr. McLaren. If a child needs to see another specialist in the group, this will be arranged immediately.
Physical Adress:
Lower Ground Room 01,
Morningside Mediclinic,
Morningside, Sandton
Telephone numbers
Tel: +27 (0) 10 786 0933.
E-mail: reception@kidsmed.co.za
Practice Number 0060267