Telephone consultations are an important means of delivering primary care to patients.^1,2 However, minimal data are available on telephone advice provided by subspecialists at tertiary level. Due to the shortage of paediatric neurologists in the UK, telephone consultations via specialist registrars (SpRs) could be beneficial both for patient care and trainee experience.

We conducted a prospective study in the paediatric neurology department at St George’s Hospital, London, over 3 months from April to July 2006, of all day-time telephone calls to paediatric neurology SpRs. The paediatric neurology department is a tertiary service led by two consultants servicing an area with a population …