(345) 745-7450
Mon-Fri 9.00am to 5pm, Sat 9.00am to 1pm
Grand Cayman Paediatrician – Dr Sara Watkin – on a Page
As my newborn and paediatric site has lots of info, 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.
My Practice Information
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
Finding My Clinic
We are very easy to find!
https://childrensdoctor.ky/contact-information/
(takes you to my full paediatric site)
Clinic Times & Information: https://babydoctor.ky/clinic-fees-information/clinic-times-locations/
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 (Cayman Islands 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 gained 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. This has obviously provided me with an extensive set of experiences spanning the every day through to the most complex.
GMC REGISTRATION: Full registration July 1987. No: 3120873
SPECIALIST REGISTER: 1996 General Paediatrics
You can find out much more about my clinical background here: Dr Sara Watkin, Paediatrician, Grand Cayman – detailed
Neonatal, Newborn & Paediatric Care Services & Conditions
Here are the services I offer as a Specialist Paediatrician & Neonatologist in Grand Cayman (in the UK, it would be called Consultant). You will see that some of the bullets are highlighted in colour- meaning they link through to more detailed information. If you don;t find anything you are looking for though please just ask.
NEWBORN CARE
I am especially experienced in newborn care, including newborn resuscitation and preterm care, and a very safe pairs of hands at delivery to ensure no complications or a rapid response if there are. All of my deliveries are followed up with baby clinic appointments for their continued care and I obviously offer urgent care to address the range of paediatric (pediatric) care and development needs your newborn baby has, especially through the first year of life. It’s a busy time with lots of development so we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other!
- Attending deliveries
- Baby checks
- Early care
- 1st year of life care
- Breastfeeding advice
- Feeding, nutrition & growth
- Immunisation & vaccination
- Congenital abnormalities
- Wheezing & Breathing Difficulties
The above is not a comprehensive list but it does contain the majority of the more common aspects of care that I provide for the newborn period. My experience from UCLH & Nottingham as a consultant and my training, including from GOSH means I cover the full spectrum of more complex problems too but these are obviously more rare in a population of our size here in Cayman.
NEONATAL CARE
Fortunately the majority of deliveries in the Cayman Islands go without complication. However, birth itself is far from 100% predictable and there are babies, a distinct proportion and more for certain types of delivery modes, that need urgent care, resuscitation or admission to the neonatal unit. I have full admitting rights to NICU and tend to provide the more complex care for the Government too in support of my colleagues at HSA.
In Grand Cayman, it is rare for parents to actually ‘book’ me for neonatal care because nobody plans for it and then when it happens it is generally either provided in urgent circumstances or I am brought in by your obstetrician for known complications or concerns. However, I attend a particularly large proportion of the deliveries because my neonatal credentials mean I am the only tertiary neonatal specialist with a heritage in extremely preterm care with full admitting rights to George Town Hospital for private patients, so parents book me for deliveries ‘just in case’ and then I am on hand regardless. 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 babies
- Birth asphyxia, including head & body cooling as an intervention (UCLH was famous for this)
(See my former colleague Professor Nicole Robertson discussing UCLH work on cooling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkExOzUegi8) - Respiratory distress, including surfactant administration & all forms of ventilation
- Cardiac and circulatory issues
- Congenital abnormalities
- Newborn infections & immune problems
I am always keen to discuss with parents both the sorts of problems that can occur in delivery and what happens if a baby is born preterm. We do have an excellent neonatal unit with first class staff here in Cayman, and so with the right care, our infants do very well for a small island.
PAEDIATRIC CARE
I operate a very busy paediatric service and I pride myself on the highest standards of paediatric care, fully up-to-date and tailored to the needs of each and every child and their parents too. My children’s clinic appointments are available throughout the week at convenient times and although I obviously get called to the hospital too, I am supported by two excellent paediatric colleagues (Dr Jasmina Marinova and Dr Sarah Newton), meaning that as a team, the level of support and cover you have with our practice is genuinely second to none.
As this site is obviously more focused on newborn care, you might like to visit our clinic practice main website for paediatrics in Cayman at: https://childrensdoctor.ky/
You can also leap to the much fuller list of paediatric conditions we cover at: https://childrensdoctor.ky/paediatric-services-cayman-islands/
However, in summary, cnditions 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. Additionally, my colleague Dr Sarah Newton is a first class diagnostician for more complex paediatric problems and we work very closely together – part of the benefit of being a team.
Booking with Dr Watkin
Clinic Address
Grand Pavilion (Hibiscus Way Entrance), 802 West Bay Road
Clinics
Monday to Friday:
0900 – 1300 Morning Clinic
(last morning appointment is 1230)
1400 – 1700 Afternoon Clinic
(last afternoon appointment is 1630)
Alternate Saturdays:
0800 – 1300
(last clinic appointment is 1230)
Which days are best for what? See information about BABY CLINIC APPOINTMENTS & CHILDREN’S CLINIC APPOINTMENTS
For appointments, or to confirm I am available, please contact (345) 745-7450 and reception will happily book you in. You can also use the main form at the bottom of this page.
You can text me personally to (345) 326 7827 but I may not be able to respond immediately if I am with patients & parents.
Accessibility
I pride myself in my availability and accessibility. I regularly take calls in the evening, weekend and at night. I live 5 minutes from George Town and can be at the hospital in 5-7 minutes from the point of an urgent phone call or for a delivery.
My parents know that they can call me when they need me and they’ll never be made to feel that they shouldn’t have called.
Choosing a Newborn Paediatrician
Many parents first choose a paediatrician when they are about to have their first child and then maintain that relationship throughout their child’s childhood. I always suggest meeting paediatricians to see who best meets your needs. You can meet me for free antenatally, where we can discuss birth, immediate newborn care and address any questions you may have.
You can also find out more about this here: https://babydoctor.ky/about-dr-sara/choosing-paediatrician-cayman/
Booking an Appointment for Consultation/Care
You can call on (345) 745-7450 and reception will happily book you in, or you can use the booking form below, whether registered already or a new patient.
If I have not answered anything or you simply wish to make contact with a query or question, you can reach me as follows:
BY EMAIL: [email protected]
BY PHONE: (345) 326 7827
