The Community and Families Social Work Team based at the RHCYP provides a service to families whose children are coming to the hospital, have been admitted to a ward or who have ongoing contact with the RHCYP.
Social Workers work with the medical teams that care for children and young people in Edinburgh and at the RHCYP, planning support for those families that need it. A duty service is also available on a daily basis, Monday to Friday.
The Sleep Physiology service looks after babies, children and young people who may have breathing problems linked to their sleep. It is part of the wider Respiratory Department, which looks after children with conditions affecting their lungs and breathing.
The service is available for children all over Scotland who are referred to our department. Our staff have lots of experience in testing children and will aim to put you at ease at every stage. We see newborn babies to young people of school-leaving age depending on what test they need to have. Sleep studies can be performed from birth onwards and pre-school children can do breathing tests with different methods based on each child’s age or ability.
Respiratory specialists look after children and young people with conditions affecting their breathing, lungs or airway. Some patients with respiratory (or breathing) conditions might also be treated by other doctors and nurses teams, depending on their wider health. These pages including information about who we are, what we do and some of the most common conditions that we treat.
Along with well-known conditions like asthma, we also care for patients with several associated conditions:
Weekly clinics are run by a team of consultants, specialist nurses, physiologists and physiotherapists for a range of common breathing conditions across the Lothian area, including at the RHCYP and St. John’s Hospital in Livingston.
A typical clinic schedule might look like this:
Wednesday morning: Nurse Specialist clinic, RHCYP
Wednesday afternoon: Consultant-led multidisciplinary clinic, RHCYP.
Thursday morning: St John’s Hospital clinic.
Friday morning: Nurse specialist clinic
Additional appointments can be arranged for children and young people with an urgent need to be seen.
Main Respiratory Service phone number: 0131 312 0453
To keep our service running whilst maintaining social distancing, a combination of face-to-face consultations along with NearMe (video calls) and telephone calls are offered. Patients needing lung function tests and home spirometry are visited by appointment.
Imaging of the body can help doctors understand what is happening inside and plan what treatment is needed. The Imaging Department offers a range of diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology services for children and young people up to 16 years of age.
If you have an appointment for a scan or x-ray and have been asked to come to the Imaging Department, it can be found on the ground floor, on the right-hand side, after entering through the main RHCYP entrance. There is a reception desk for booking in on arrival. Sometimes families have a short wait, so our waiting area has toys and other play equipment for children to explore and enjoy. See if you can spot our cheeky brownies in the artwork all around the walls.
Dirleton ward is also known as the Planned Investigation Unit (or PIU) and welcomes children and young people from all over the Lothian and Borders regions. Dirleton is a medical day care ward, where young patients needing tests, or to be seen by a specialist for a longer appointment are asked to come. As a day ward, we welcome babies, children and young people for appointments or treatment before they go home again on the same day.
Coming to the ward might feel a bit scary, especially for the first time. Everyone is very friendly and will be happy to help you settle in. You can bring things from home, such as a special toy, tablet or phone, or some drinks and snacks (so long as you haven’t been asked not to eat or drink, known as ‘fasting’, before you come).
Dirleton ward is on Level 3 of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, at the end of the corridor. There is a secure door with buzzer which you press to enter and a reception desk to check-in when you arrive inside.
Dirleton Ward is open on the following days and times:
Monday – Wednesday: 7.30am – 5.30pm
Thursday: 7.30am – 5pm
Telephone: 0131 3121515
