Patient & Visitor Facilities

The RHCYP has a café, restaurant, shop and vending machines spread throughout the hospital building.  Find out more using the tabs below.  Drinking water is available from all cold water taps, hydro taps and chilled drinking fountains throughout the building.

The 4th-floor Restaurant is open to all patients, visitors and staff, serving hot breakfast and breakfast rolls, coffee, lunch, cakes and snacks.  There are tables to eat inside and a south-facing outside terrace with extra seating for warm days.  Food can also be prepared to take away.

Opening Times:

Monday – Friday:

Breakfast:                                      8am – 11am Lunch:                                          12 noon – 2pm Coffee, cake & cold drinks:          8am – 4pm

Saturday & Sunday:

Breakfast:                                     8am – 11am Lunch:                                          12 noon – 1.30pm Coffee, cake & cold drinks:          8am – 1.30pm Please check at the hospital for up-to-date opening times, as these may sometimes vary.

Opening Times: 8.30am – 3.30pm, Monday to Friday Also, on the 4th floor, the Coffee Bar serves fresh barista-style coffee, along with a selection of cakes and scones.

Vending machines are available 24 hours a day, with hot and cold drinks, snacks and confectionery.

2nd floor: in the vending bay, with some seating also available in this area.

Public Wi-Fi is available at the RHCYP, courtesy of our friends at the Edinburgh & Lothians Health Foundation. Search for it on your device and log in with an e-mail address to get online. Wi-Fi access is also available for children and young people staying at the RHCYP as in-patients, allowing connection to devices brought from home. Log-in details are available from each ward – please ask your nursing team or the ward clerks if you’d like to get online during your stay.

Opening times:

• 7.30am – 6.30pm Monday to Friday
• 10am – 3.30pm Saturday & Sunday

Located within the Atrium on the ground floor (just past the main reception), the shop provides a selection of healthy snacks, gifts, cards and a small selection of groceries and toiletries, magazines and newspapers. For further information on what the charity does, please visit their website echcharity Opens in new window

There are several accessible courtyards and terraces where patients, families, and visitors can enjoy the fresh air and the outside environment.  Outdoor spaces have been designed to be interesting, with areas to explore, outdoor seating and landscapes plants, stones and objects. Access to these spaces will usually be available between 8am and 8pm, and most are fully accessible. The Lochranza and Bramwell courtyards cannot be used during helicopter arrivals until the helicopter has departed for safety reasons.  Please leave these areas promptly when asked.  Thank you!

The Family Sitting Room on Level 3 is open to everyone.  A quiet, relaxing place away from the ward can be used as a space to wait or a place to get some calm thinking space away from the noise of the ward.  The Family Sitting Room is fully accessible, with toilets nearby.

The RHCYP is a modern, purpose-built hospital, designed to be welcoming to patients and visitors with physical and intellectual disabilities, including those with additional needs or learning difficulties. Staff and volunteers will always be happy to help and answer any questions.

Blue Badge parking

There are 112 spaces reserved for disabled patients and visitors across the site. Spaces are appropriately marked and are specifically reserved for use by blue badge holders. Car park stewards are available to help visitors on arrival and can advise where the nearest blue badge spaces are.

Close-proximity & pre-bookable parking

The RHCYP has three close-proximity car parks for certain eligible patients and their families. Car parks 1A and 1D are barrier-controlled with number plate recognition and can be pre-booked under certain circumstances for families with a clinical need to park close to the hospital entrance. This includes patients that meet the following criteria:

• Wheelchair users and those with severe mobility problems
• Severe sight impairments
• Children dependent on medical equipment
• Patients assessed by their clinical team as needing closer access.

Spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. When booking you will be asked about your eligibility for close-proximity parking and given a specific time slot, depending on your appointment time and type. To make a booking please call 0131 537 3333 (option 2) 24-hours before you are due to attend. Lines are open 24 hours a day. You will need details of your child’s appointment and your car registration number at the time of booking. The close-proximity parking area is regularly monitored by CCTV and by car park stewards to make sure that it is being used by those families that need it most. Thank you for your cooperation.

Induction Loops

There are fixed, short-range and portable induction loops around the hospital, including:

• Main reception desk
• Reception in the Emergency Department
• Therapies reception
• Outpatients 7 & 8
• Imaging Department (Scans & X-rays)
• Speech and Language therapy rooms

There are also portable units available in Critical Care, the Emergency Department and Castle Mey ward (the Paediatric Acute Receiving Unit). Please ask a member of staff if you need to use an induction loop.

Changing Places and Accessible Toilets

There are accessible toilets throughout the building, including on the ground floor near the Café and ECHC Shop, in the Family Support corridor and on the 4th floor near the Restaurant. There are three Changing Places toilets (two in the RHCYP areas and one in the DCN part of the building), with adequate space for carers, an adult-sized bench and hoist and a safe, clean environment for patients and visitors. These toilets are located on the ground floor in the Outpatients Pod area, on the first floor next to the public lift and in the Outpatient department of DCN (the Department for Clinical Neuroscience). Patients and visitors using the Changing Places toilets should have their own sling, and must check its compatibility with the hoist before starting to use it.

Quiet Waiting Spaces

There are quiet waiting spaces for children and families that would benefit from a calmer environment before or after their outpatient appointment. Please ask a member of the reception staff on arrival who will do their best to help.