Edinburgh's Sick Kids Hospital: what patients should do now

FAMILIES with an emergency have been told they should continue to go to the existing accident and emergency department at the Sick Kids Hospital in Sciennes.

Families with an emergency are urged to go to the existing Sick Kids A&E

But NHS Lothian says anyone who turns up hoping to find an A&E department at the new site at Little France will still get urgent care from expert teams. If the situation is not life-threatening they will be transferred to Sciennes, but life-threatening cases would be dealt with by the Royal Infirmary A&E.

A special helpline has been set up to answer questions from paediatric patients and their families and those who were also due to attend the Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

The helpline - 0800 028 2816 - is open 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

NHS Lothian said patients who have an appointment over the coming days would be contacted by the teams who normally provide their care to update their appointment details and explain where they should attend. They say every effort will be made to retain the same date and time if possible