Children's outpatient services move to the new Sick Kids hospital

NHS Lothian has revealed plans for more services to finally move to the new Sick Kids hospital and Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Edinburgh Bioquarter site.

Children's outpatient services move to new Sick Kids hospital site

The health board announced that from July 20, a number of children’s outpatient services will relocate to the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) at the same time as remaining services from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) complete their move.

A phased move will see some Children’s outpatient services, including Neurology and Orthopaedics migrate, along with a number of administrative support staff.

NHS Lothian say the plan, which has been agreed with the full involvement of clinical teams, will not only help to free up space at the existing Royal Hospital for Sick Children site at Sciennes, but will enable the health board to continue to deliver paediatric clinics in a way which fully adheres to and supports social distancing.

The new building, which will replace the current Sick Kids in Sciennes, was originally expected to be ready in winter 2012, but it suffered a series of delays and the final move was halted at the last minute in July 2019 after checks discovered the ventilation in critical care did not meet national standards.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman ordered further checks and last September she announced work totalling £16m needed to be carried out but said the new Sick Kids would open in autumn 2020 with the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) at the Western General moving to the new site in spring 2020.

Susan Goldsmith, Director of Finance and Executive Lead for the project, NHS Lothian, said: “Delays to the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People have been well publicised, but today we celebrate this important milestone for children’s services in Lothian.

“We are delighted to make this announcement, and look forward to welcoming our first outpatients in July, who will be able to benefit from the fantastic facilities and surroundings on offer.

“It goes without saying that this move would not be possible without the continued hard work and support from our project team, as well as the contractors on site.

“Whilst we celebrate this moment, I know many people will be wondering when the rest of our children’s services will open at the new site.

“It very much remains our aim to complete the full migration of children’s services to the RHCYP in the Autumn.

“We are mindful, however, of the ongoing Covid-19 situation, which may yet impact supply chains and the pace of work, as contractors on site observe safe social distancing, but at present the work is progressing on track.”

The final phase of the move of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) will also take place in mid-July.

This will see inpatient Neurosurgery and Neurology wards, along with Neurosurgery Theatres and Interventional Neuro-Radiology relocated to their new home from July 13.

The very few remaining DCN outpatient services will also make the transition from the Western General Hospital to the Edinburgh Bio Quarter site at Little France.

Jacquie Campbell, Chief Officer, Acute Services, NHS Lothian, said: “This will mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the provision of these highly specialised services for our patients.

It will also represent a huge moment for those DCN staff who have remained at the Western General Hospital to support our Covid-19 response.

They are really looking forward to providing world class treatment and care in superb facilities at the new Department of Clinical Neurosciences.”

Scottish Conservatives, Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “The moving of services to the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children is long overdue, but I am glad that this could finally present the beginning of the end of what has been a national scandal surrounding the SNP Governments mismanagement of the new Sick Kids Hospital.

“It is vital assurances are provided surrounding the remedial works and inspection regime at the hospital so that it adheres to the highest health and safety standards. I will be seeking assurances from SNP Ministers before patients and staff move to the hospital.

“Above all families across the East of Scotland will welcome the fact that we hopefully will soon see the full opening of a state of the art hospital to help our NHS professionals provide the care and treatment for our loved ones that we all want to see.

“I look forward to visiting the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children once lockdown measures have been eased and it is safe to do so.”

FAQs on Children’s Services Outpatients move from NHS Lothian

How do I know where my child’s appointment will be?

Your appointment letter will tell you where your child’s appointment is being held. If it is to be held at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, you will also receive a phone call to make sure you know where you are going.

Is there parking available?

Parking is available on site.

Parking stewards will direct you to the most appropriate car park. A small number of spaces are also bookable in advance, but these are reserved for patients with the greatest need based on clinical priority.

With Covid ongoing, is it safe to bring my child to hospital?

Yes. We have separate areas for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and for those who have not.

There are also a range of enhanced infection control measures in place, such as staggered appointment times to limit the number of people in any one area of the building, physical distancing within waiting areas and enhanced cleaning in consulting rooms between each patient.

My child has an appointment in August, does this automatically mean it will be in the new building?

No. Although most outpatient services will be moving in July, some will remain at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, until the new building is ready to be opened to all services, including inpatients.

This is because some services need access to other clinical support, which will not be moving until the whole building is open.

Departments that will not be moving in July include, but are not limited to: Pain, Respiratory (asthma, allergy, CF), Cardiology, Haematology Oncology, Plastics and Plastics dressings clinic.Does the move mean that the reported problems in the building have been fixed?

Our project team, as well as the contractors on site, are continuing to work on the final stages of the remedial and enhancement work. Once this has been completed, and following final commissioning, the second phase of the move will take place. At this point, those Children’s services still situated at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children site will migrate to the new building.

Why has everything not moved across to the new building?

Remedial and enhancement work is still taking place at the new building, which means that some services cannot move at this time.

If my child has an emergency, where do I go?

Children’s Emergency Services remain at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Sciennes. If you need to access this service, you should continue to do so at the old site. There are no Emergency Services at the new building within the Little France site at this time.

Does this move set in motion a timeline for the full building to be open and can you tell us when that will be? This is the first phase in the move of our Children’s Services to the Little France site. We have made significant progress on the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN). It is possible that changes may have to be made to the work programme and the delivery of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.

It has been reported that the RHCYP building will be opening in Autumn 2020, are things on track for then?

Possible changes may have to be made to the programme and the delivery of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. Given the current climate, this may not come as a surprise, but because of the complexities involved and the impact of COVID-19, which could never have been predicted, the timeline for a full handover is under review. A revised works programme is being established, which will be as close to the Autumn timeline as possible.