The paediatric clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are point of care guidelines, developed to assist clinicians with decisions about appropriate health care for children and young people.
The CPGs are designed to provide concise practical advice regarding assessment and management of common and serious paediatric conditions. They are developed by a multidisciplinary team of practising clinicians, based on the available evidence and consensus.
The CPG Development Group
The CPG Development Group is made up of 2 part-time CPG Consultants, up to 6 part-time CPG Fellows and a part-time CPG Administrator. This group manages CPG Committee meetings, and oversees development, publication and maintenance of CPGs. Email
cpg@rch.org.au for assistance.
The CPG Committee
The CPG Committee is made up of a broad group of clinicians from General Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine and General Practice, including doctors (consultants and trainees), nurses and allied health practitioners from health services across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Committee meetings are held at The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) (and via video link) from 3-4 pm on the 1st Thursday and 3rd Wednesday of every month.
CPGs are written and reviewed by Committee members; drafts are circulated for comment and then discussed in detail at a meeting.
The Paediatric Improvement Collaborative (PIC)
CPGs have historically been produced by each State (and even individual hospitals) in Australia. The production and maintenance of CPGs is a costly and time-consuming process. In an effort to reduce variation in care, avoid duplication of work and reduce cost, the PIC was formed in July 2018. The PIC was formed between Queensland Health Clinical Excellence Queensland (CEQ), the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), Safer Care Victoria (SCV) and the RCH. The initial aim was to adapt a number of Victorian paediatric CPGs to be appropriate for use in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Each of the States involved has appointed representatives to assist with the application of local and State-based knowledge to the CPGs during the development and review process, ensuring relevance for all CPG users.
The PIC Steering Committee has approved a CPG development and endorsement process, and provides governance to ensure that the process for development and revision of CPGs is robust and responsive.
CPG development process
The development of new CPGs and the review of existing CPGs is generally determined by the CPG Development Group but may be requested/suggested by State Health Departments or other bodies.
This flowchart describes the process:
CPGs are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain up to date; this is by one of two processes:
Extended review: Committee members and other clinicians undertake a detailed review of a current CPG or develop a new CPG after discussion with the CPG development group. Topics are chosen based on the authors’ areas of interest and priorities determined by the PIC.
Streamlined review: The CPG development group undertakes regular structured reviews considering current evidence, CPG content and formatting, to ensure all CPGs remain up to date. Subspecialists or relevant stakeholders may be contacted during the process for specific questions. Interstate input is also sought as part of this review. If significant changes are required, the CPG committee is consulted.
Other Resources
- CPG Development information for authors, supervisors and reviewers
- The clinical practice guideline page provides access to a number of guideline types, including some developed specifically for use at the RCH. The guideline index includes links to the RCH Nursing Clinical Guidelines, these will have a Clinical Guidelines (Nursing) banner at the top of each guideline.
Last updated April 2021