General practitioners can develop clinical areas of expertise in a number of areas, such as cardiology or children's health, and are known as GPs with a special interest.
However, the number of GPs with a special interest in children is very small, according to Dr Simon Lenton, vice president of health services at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which is in the early stages of tackling the issue with the Royal College of General Practitioners.
He said children were often referred to paediatricians because GPs had relatively little paediatric training.
But more children could be treated in primary care settings if the number of GPs with expertise in treating children increased, he added.
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