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Immunology & Infectious Diseases Department

· Feb 5, 2021 ·

Welcome to the Immunology and Infectious disease department. We look after children and young people with unusual, recurrent or complicated infections, arranging tests to diagnose and manage these conditions.

We aim to deliver high standards of care to children, young people and their families from across south-east Scotland, working with many other departments and teams (often called a multi-disciplinary approach). We might work together with physiotherapy, dietetics and colleagues in paediatric departments from other areas, GPs, microbiology, virology, public health, the NHS Lothian Infection Service, and Health Protection Scotland.

Patients can be referred to our team by their GP, from other departments at the RHCYP and by colleagues in paediatric departments across Scotland. In Edinburgh, we also provide antimicrobial advice and stewardship. We aim to care for young patients as close to home as possible.

Acorn Suite

If a child or young person has disclosed an incidence of abuse, they might be invited to our special child-friendly examination room at the RHCYP, the Acorn Suite, which is situated next to the children’s outpatient department on the ground floor.

The Acorn Suite has two purpose-built child-friendly examination rooms that meet the standards required for forensic examinations. There is a discrete entrance and dedicated parking, which can be booked in advance. The Acorn Suite team can be contacted on 0131 312 0499.

In some situations, we may see older children for examinations at one of the other NHS Lothian forensic suites, either the Sycamore Suite (Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh) or The West Lothian Civic Centre (Livingston). We will advise professionals, families and their children or young people involved where their medical examination will be taking place at the time of booking.

Medical examinations may need to occur at the hospital bedside in situations where the child or young person is too unwell to be moved, and the examination is urgent. We always consider the child or young person’s best interests when making decisions about the location and timing of a medical examination and respect their right to dignity and privacy during the examination.

All medical examinations need permission from the child or young person (where old enough) or their responsible parent or carer if they are too young or unable to do this themselves. The people who can give this permission on behalf of a child, also known as ‘consent’, are set out by law.

This can be a very anxious and confusing time for families and those that care for children. We have developed a leaflet to help young people and their parents or carers understand consent and what to expect at a child protection examination.

St John’s Hospital

· Jan 29, 2021 ·

St. John’s Hospital is a modern teaching hospital based at Howden in Livingston.

Howden Road West
Howden
Livingston
West Lothian
EH54 6PP
Telephone(switchboard): 01506 523000

Directions to St. John’s Hospital

There is a 24-hour Emergency Department that can treat babies, children and young people as well as adults. The Children’s Ward can accept patients who need to stay overnight on the ward, sometimes after an emergency visit to the Emergency Department, or after an operation.

Specialist services including burns treatment and plastic surgery are based at St. John’s, as well as a Special Care Baby unit and a range of Children’s Outpatient Clinics.

Spiritual Care

· Jan 29, 2021 ·

Spiritual care is part of the care offered to children and their families. It recognises that our beliefs, values and understanding of life can help us cope at times of illness, change or loss. The chaplains offer spiritual care to patients, relatives, carers and staff. We do this by

Listening to your story
Offering space for reflection
Supporting you at times of loss
Facilitating prayer, ritual and celebration

Speech and Language Therapy Department

· Jan 29, 2021 ·

Speech and Language Therapy is the treatment, support and care for children and young people who have difficulties with communication or eating, drinking and swallowing. There are Speech and Language Therapy teams based in local hospitals and health centres across the Lothian region.

Speech and language therapy services can support babies, children and young people with:

speech sounds
stammering
voice problems, such as hoarseness and loss of voice
understanding language (making sense of what people say)
using language (words and sentences)
interacting with others
eating, drinking and swallowing

Speech and Language Therapists are Allied Health Professionals. They work with parents, carers and other professionals, such as doctors, nurses, Health Visitors, teachers, nursery staff and Occupational Therapists.

In the hospital, the Speech and Language Therapy team supports children and young people with speech, language, communication, eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.

These may be due to a condition a child is born with, such as a cleft palate, after an injury (known as trauma), operation or changes to their health.

They provide support and advice for babies and young children where a long hospital stay might affect their development.

two nurses playing with a baby

The team promotes inclusive communication across the hospital, raising awareness about signing, visuals and technology to help young people who communicate in different ways.

Working as part of a team of specialists (known as a multi-disciplinary team), they also provide support and training for carers, staff and volunteers.

In the community, Speech and Language Therapists work in teams based at local hospitals and health centres across the Lothian region. They might visit children in an early years setting (such as a nursery) or at school.

Local helplines for advice

If you have queries or concerns about your child’s speech, language and communication, please call the Speech and Language Therapy helpline in your local area to talk to a Speech and Language Therapist for advice. Helplines are open to everyone. Find your local helpline number and available times.

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Local helplines for advice

More Information

Contact NHS Lothian