The Royal Hospital for Sick Children is a hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, specialising in paediatric healthcare. Locally, it is commonly referred to simply as the Sick Kids. The hospital provides care for children from birth to around 13 years of age, including a specialist Accident and Emergency facility. The hospital is located on Sciennes Road in the Sciennes area of Edinburgh's South Side.
Video Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
History
The hospital opened in 1860 at 7 Lauriston Lane and was the first dedicated children's hospital in Scotland. It received a royal charter in 1863, when it moved to the Meadowside House. The conversion of the house into a hospital was carried out by the architect David Macgibbon. In 1890 an outbreak of typhoid forced a temporary removal to Plewlands House, Morningside, and Meadowside House was subsequently sold. The site of the Trades Maiden Hospital (established by Mary Erskine) at Rillbank was bought in the early 1890s, and plans for a new hospital were put in hand to designs by George Washington Browne. The Sciennes Road building cost £50,000 was opened on 31 October 1895 by Princess Beatrice. In 1948, the hospital became part of the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board, and between 1974 and 1984 it was part of the District of Lothian Health Board. At present it is part of Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust. The hospital celebrated its 150th birthday in 2010.
Maps Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
Architecture of the Sciennes Site
Various of the buildings that make up the hospital at the Sciennes Road site have listed building status designated by Historic Environment Scotland.
- The main George Washington Browne building is designated as category B.
- The mortuary chapel (also by Washington Browne) is designated as category A as it contains a mural scheme by the Arts and Crafts artist Phoebe Anna Traquair.
Future of the hospital
In 2005, NHS Lothian decided to develop plans to move the Sick Kids from its present site to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France on the south-east edge of the city. A business case for the project was approved by the Scottish Government in January 2012. The new facility was expected to open in mid-2017 but has been delayed by construction issues including contractors going into administration and poor weather. It is now expected to open in spring 2018. The new building at Little France will also accommodate the department of clinical neurosciences who will move across from the Western General Hospital and the department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) who will move from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The new hospital will have 233 beds and is being built under the Scottish Futures Trust.
In December 2016 the existing site was offered for sale as a development opportunity with the expectation of significant interest. In February 2017 a local community development trust was formed to support a bid by residents to acquire the site. The building and site were eventually sold to a Liverpool-based property developer.
When the hospital moves to its new location in Little France, it will be renamed as the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.
Fundraising
In 2011, 6-year old Jack Henderson made the headlines by raising money for the hospital that cared for his brother, in exchange for drawings he had created. He originally planned to raise £100, but quickly raised £10,000. A book, Jack Draws Anything, was published in October 2011. After 3 years the fundraising total exceeded £64,000 and the project was brought to an end in June 2014.
References
External links
- Royal Hospital for Sick Children, NHS Lothian web site
Source of article : Wikipedia
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