Paediatric OPD front desk: vaccinations, sick children and anxious parents

In a children’s OPD, the caller is rarely the patient. It is usually a parent, often worried, and the desk’s words carry more weight than at any other counter. Vaccinations add a second job: Table 2 of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics’ 2025 schedule sets out routine vaccines in 17 rows by age, from birth to 18 years, and 12 of those rows fall before a child’s second birthday (IAP, 2026). The example calls were written for this guide, with made-up names; fill in the words in curly brackets.

Which schedule, and who decides each dose?

Two schedules matter in India:

• The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), the government’s, gives free vaccines against 12 diseases (PIB, August 2026) at primary and community health centres, government hospitals, sub-centres and outreach sessions (PIB, March 2026).
• The IAP’s recommended schedule (2025), from its vaccines committee (ACVIP), covers children from birth to 18 years (IAP, 2026). It includes vaccines that are not on the UIP’s list, such as influenza, hepatitis A and varicella (chickenpox).

Your paediatricians decide which schedule your clinic follows, and each child’s vaccines and doses on the day. The desk never works out from memory what is due: it books, records and reminds.

When booking a vaccination, ask for:

1. the child’s full name and date of birth, and the parent’s name and mobile number;
2. the last vaccine given, and its date, from the card;
3. whether the child is unwell today, to tell the doctor, never to decide;
4. the vaccination card itself: your clinic’s card, the government’s Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card, or the certificate from U-WIN, the government’s vaccination platform since October 2024 (PIB, August 2026), which carries the date of the next dose (MoHFW, 2024).

Tell parents to plan for the wait after the vaccine: the government’s manual for health workers asks that every child wait 30 minutes, so staff can watch for any reaction (MoHFW, 2024). Ask your paediatricians what your clinic asks.

Reminders that bring children back on time

The government’s manual gives health workers four key messages for parents after every vaccination, and two of them are about coming back: when and where to come for the next visit, and keeping the card safe and bringing it along (MoHFW, 2024). The desk carries both forward:

• Remind parents before the dose falls due, and again if it becomes overdue.
• Say only what is needed: the clinic, the child’s name, that a vaccine is due and when, how to book, and to bring the card. No offers.
• Send it only to parents who agreed, from your clinic’s own WhatsApp or as an SMS on a DLT-registered template. Our reminder templates explain both rules.
• Mark who has been reminded, and call the parents of any child who is overdue.

The danger signs that mean emergency care now

On every call about a sick child, listen for the danger signs first, in the parent’s own words.

Children from 2 months to 5 years. These are WHO’s general danger signs (WHO IMCI chart booklet, 2014):

WHO says a child with any one of them needs urgent attention. Its training modules describe a lethargic child as drowsy and not interested in what is happening around them, and an unconscious child as one who cannot be woken (WHO IMCI modules, 2014).

Babies up to 2 months. WHO’s chart for young infants lists these signs, each a reason for urgent referral to hospital (WHO, 2019):

• not able to feed at all, or not feeding well;
• convulsions;
• severe chest indrawing (the lower chest wall going in when the baby breathes in);
• a temperature of 38°C or above, or below 35.5°C, measured under the arm;
• movement only when stimulated, or no movement at all;
• fast breathing, 60 breaths a minute or more, in a baby less than 7 days old;
• yellow skin in a baby less than 24 hours old, or yellow palms or soles at any age (severe jaundice).

Parents can’t count breaths on the phone, and the desk shouldn’t ask them to. If the parent of a baby this young says “बुख़ार है” (has a fever) or “ठंडा पड़ गया है” (has gone cold), or describes any sign on these lists, treat it as an emergency:

1. Stop the booking.
2. Tell the parent to bring the child to emergency now, or to call 108 or 112 for an ambulance.
3. Alert the duty doctor with the parent’s number and what they said.
4. At the counter, a child with any of these signs goes straight to the doctor, not into the queue.

What the desk must never say to a parent

1. A dose. “कितना syrup दें?” (How much syrup should I give?) Only the doctor decides a child’s medicines and doses.
2. “That’s normal” or “don’t worry”. Not about a fever, a rash or a reaction after a vaccine. Check for danger signs, and get the doctor or nurse.
3. “You can skip it”, “you can delay it” or “it’s too late now”. The IAP schedule has catch-up ages for late vaccines, and the doctor plans them from the card.
4. Which vaccine or brand is better, whether the “painless” one is worth it, or whether a vaccine outside the UIP is needed. The doctor explains the options.
5. “It won’t hurt at all”. WHO asks vaccinators to avoid falsely reassuring words (WHO, 2015), and the desk shouldn’t make that promise either.
6. Anything about another child, or a child’s record to anyone but the parent or guardian.

Scripts for anxious parents

Worried parents need to be heard, a clear next step, and the truth. Before a vaccine, it also helps to tell them what WHO recommends: the parent stays throughout and after the vaccination, children under 3 are held and older ones sit, preferably on the parent’s lap, babies are breastfed during or shortly before where that is culturally acceptable, and children under 6 are distracted with toys, videos, music or talk (WHO, 2015).

Her age matters: under two months, a fever is itself on WHO’s list, so she goes to emergency now.

Where DrMate fits

In DrMate Rx, the prescription pad (Built), each child’s vaccines follow the IAP’s recommended schedule (2025): due, overdue, coming and given, with the minimum gaps and age limits worked out, and “given today” in one tap. Your paediatricians review the schedule before you switch it on, and the doctor decides every dose. Parents get a vaccination card as a PDF: vaccines given, with dates, those to come, with due dates, and a QR code to their own page. A “Vaccines due” list shows the children with a dose due now, overdue or due in the next seven days, each with the reminder written in Hindi and English: one tap opens your clinic’s own WhatsApp with the message ready, or copies it as an SMS, and the list marks who has been reminded. DrMate doesn’t send these reminders itself.

On the phone, the AI receptionist books for parents in everyday Hindi and Hinglish and checks every sentence for warning signs first. An emergency gets what to do now and an alert to your staff. An urgent problem gets today’s earliest time; if today is full, the parent is told to go to emergency and reception is told. It never gives a dose. With the paediatrics specialty pack on (Built and Optional; reviewed with your paediatricians before it goes live), it also knows children’s visit lengths, what to bring and children’s warning signs. Hear it on our demo line, 080 6553 5931, where it answers as Sunrise Hospital, a sample hospital we made up.