Who we are...

The European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians was founded in 2009 as an evolution and transformation of a previous organization, SEPA/ESAP (Societé Européenne de Pédiatrie

Ambulatoire / European Society of Ambulatory Paediatrics ) that existed for 20 years (1989-2009).

We are a confederation of Primary Pediatric Professional Organizations from countries within the definition of WHO Europe (https://www.euro.who.int/en/countries ) and represent more than 25.000 primary pediatricians in 19 European countries organized in 23 organizations. Being Primary Care pediatricians means:

• we care for children and adolescents in the community
• we are initial contact persons for all undifferentiated unselected concerns of children, adolescents and their families- we are the first contact for a wide range of troubles as acute diseases, chronic diseases, new morbidities and psychosocial concerns
• we assume care for all children with long terms conditions, in cooperation with special care centers
• we offer urgent emergency care with rapid referral, if necessary
• we provide access to the local community, in most European countries, to our ambulatory services 24 hours a day and 7 days a week
• we offer a wide range of services from newborns to the 18th birthday and support transfer to general practitioners after  the 18th birthday. This applies to many European countries
• we concentrate on prevention and health promotion and feel responsible for screenings, immunizations and regular health checks for babies
• we continually undergo training and educational courses in established, evidenced based medicine
• we are engaged in the prevention and early recognition of child abuse and neglect, and work work in conjunction with local authorities for the safeguard of children
• we serve as guides for the patients in complicated health systems
• we work in competent teams in community-based care. We do not work alone, but in systems and teams we engage as coordinators
• we are good networkers and cooperate with all other professions in the community
• we give public health advice and provide health education promoting healthy lifestyles
• we assure and improve the quality of  our services and the performance of our teams continuously
• we are open-minded to complaints and we take corrective actions if errors happen

Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic our delegates convened  twice a year in different European cities, hosted by one of our member organizations, visited primary care premises, paediatric group practices as well as refugee clinics and learned from fellow colleagues how to improve. We are constantly engaged in the production of statements, research and novel approaches to primary care,  not only in the General Assembly but also in specific several working groups dedicated to research, the drafting of documents concerning primary care training (curriculum, the drafting of entrustable professional activity guidelines, etc.), vaccination, advocacy, prevention and many more.