This week sees the launch of a year of celebrations to mark the 150th
anniversary of Edinburgh s internationally-renowned Royal Hospital for
Sick Children.
What was originally known as the Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children
first opened its doors on 15 February 1860, at 7 Lauriston Lane. It
provided treatment to children from the poorest backgrounds who all
too often were left to suffer.
A century-and-a-half later, what began as a 20-bed institution with a
small dispensary, has blossomed into a centre of excellence offering
care and treatment the founders would never have thought possible.
Celebrations begin on Monday 15 February with a special party
atmosphere as magicians, clowns and face painters tour the wards to
entertain the children.
Staff, patients and families will also be invited to enjoy a slice of birthday cake.
Among the first to offer his birthday congratulations was Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, who said: "I'm delighted to send my best wishes
to the patients, families, staff and friends of the Royal Hospital of
Sick Children on this special day.
"The hospital's birthday provides an opportunity to look back at how
paediatric care and medicine - and the skills and knowledge of our
doctors and nurses - have developed and improved over the last 150
years; from the treatment in the 1860s of diseases such as smallpox and
tuberculosis to the specialist surgery and intensive care undertaken
today.
"And it is also a chance to look to the future and the completion in
2013 of NHS Lothian's new children's hospital, which will provide the
modern facilities and environment for the RHSC to continue its
life-saving work and exceptional standards of care for society's most
vulnerable patients.
"The past decade has seen record investment in the NHS and ensuring the
highest standards of care remains my priority. Best wishes for a great
day - and the very best of good fortune for the future. You all
thoroughly deserve it."
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon MSP adder her best wishes, she said:
I would like to send my warmest congratulations to all the staff,
patients and their families and supporters of the RHSC for reaching
this fantastic milestone. The hospital has undertaken a massive
journey since it opened its doors in 1860 and that journey will
continue with the move to Little France in 2013.
The RHSC has always had strong ambitions and even before it opened for
the first time it was planned as a teaching hospital with the aim of
promoting the advancement of medical science in relation to childhood
diseases. Today the hospital provides a wide range of specialist
services with increased investment in gastroenterology, general
surgery, rheumatology cystic fibrosis and children's cancer. The
development of these services will result in quicker access for new
patients and consistency of care for chronic patients as well as
providing a greater level of support from stronger multi-disciplinary
teams of healthcare professionals to support these children and young
people.
The RHSC has a special place in the hearts of many Lothian families, bringing hope to thousands of young people.
Dr Charles Winstanley, chair of NHS Lothian, said: It s wonderful to
be celebrating the hospital s 150th birthday it has achieved so much
for so many patients and is recognised for its pioneering work to
advance paediatric medicine.
The RHSC provides the highest standards of care for children and young people from the Lothians and across Scotland.
From its earliest days the hospital was saving the lives of children
who were suffering from the terrible diseases which ravaged the poor
and undernourished.
I believe the founders would be proud of the way we have built on
the hospital s original principles, and we are certainly proud of
everything that is being achieved by the staff at the RHSC.
Even better is that this is not simply a story about the past, but
about the future too, as we look forward to the creation of a new
hospital for children and young people at Little France which will
continue to care for Scotland s children throughout the 21st century.
Other activities planned for the year include a summer garden party,
birthday card competition and a photography exhibition capturing a year
in the life of NHS Lothian's Children's Services.
A new section of the NHS Lothian website has also been developed where
people can view the birthday messages for the hospital and its staff
and post their own.
Notes to Editors:
About the history of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children
Nurse Rowena Conrad has been researching the history of the hospital.
Some key moments, from foundation to the establishment of the NHS, are
given below. For a fuller version contact the NHS Lothian
Communications.
14 Feb 1859: Dr John Smith, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary writes to
The Scotsman appealing for the foundation of a new hospital to relieve
the sufferings of young children amongst the lowest and poorest
classes of the population, when afflicted with disease.
The following month a reply appeared in the paper s columns. George
Barclay, a businessman made the generous offer of £100 towards the
establishment of a children s hospital in Edinburgh.
5 May 1859: The first public meeting to establish the hospital board.
It was also agreed that the hospital would become a training school for
medical students and nurses the proposal to teach paediatric medicine
was innovative and controversial as it was still regarded by some as
simply an extension of the obstetric and gynaecology specialities.
1859: A leaflet outlined the Fundamental Rules for the hospital which stated that it would:
○ provide for the treatment of the children of the poor,
during sickness, and to furnish with advice and medicine those who
cannot be admitted into the Hospital.
○ promote the advancement of the medical science with reference to the diseases of childhood
○ diffuse among all classes of the community, and chiefly
among the poor, a better acquaintance with the management of infants
and children during health or illness..
15 Feb 1860: EHSC opens at 7, Lauriston Lane. The directors overcame
the objections of local residents, including the Merchant Maiden
Hospital School for Girls, who were concerned about their quiet, leafy
lane becoming a thoroughfare for sick children and their pauper
families. By August 1859 the lease was secured for five years at a cost
of £100 per year. The building was swiftly transformed into a hospital
comprising 12 inpatient beds, a dispensary, an outpatient consulting
room, 8 convalescent beds and limited accommodation for nursing and
medical staff.
18 May 1863: In April 1861 Meadowside House, at the foot of Lauriston
Lane, came onto the market. It was purchased and turned into the next
Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children the directors proudly described
the hospital as commodious and well ventilated, and it comprised: two
long wards overlooking the Meadows and accommodating up to 14
inpatients, each with a bathroom, a nurses room and other
conveniences; two fever wards for six patients; a four-bedded ward for
special cases; an outpatient dispensary, waiting room, prescribing
room, and lecture theatre. The directors and staff were to have their
hard work recognised when Queen Victoria bestowed her patronage the
first Children s Hospital in the UK to receive such an honour.
1 Nov 1887: First surgical ward opens under Dr Joseph Bell.
2 Dec 1890: Transfer to Plewlands House following a major outbreak of typhoid.
31 Oct 1895: RHSC opens at Sciennes in a hospital designed by the
eminent architect George Washington Browne, with an estimated building
cost of £20 000-£23 000. Princess Beatrice performed the opening. Mr
Hall Blyth, chairman of the directors, spoke about the history of the
hospital and its services, explaining that over 180 000 sick children
had received treatment.
War Years: By 1916, 11 members of the medical and surgical staff were
away on military service. The staffing deficit required urgent filling,
and a new generation of women professionals emerged. Women were
welcomed onto the medical team. Dr Jean McLean travelled from Nova
Scotia, to take charge of the pathology and bacteriology departments,
and she actively encouraged the female medical students to do the work
vacated by men.
1920s-1940s: The surgeons were having great success with a low
mortality rate for acute abdominal conditions such as appendicitis
(only two deaths out of 85 cases). In 1928 the first children s ear,
nose and throat ward in the country opened on the second floor of the
hospital Meikleham Ward (ward 6). Two years later a new outpatient
clinic commenced for disorders of speech, initially for those with
adenoid, cleft palate and other organic maladies.
Dawn of the NHS: By the end of the war in 1945 even the most
enthusiastic supporters of voluntary status could see that the system
was no longer financially tenable. Huge medical advances had taken
place which needed to be accommodated. Services such as radiology,
physiotherapy, occupational therapy demanded space and recognition.
Child psychiatry had also emerged as a major discipline. There had been
a whole raft of discoveries in antibiotics which had revolutionised
medical treatment and a mass of new ideas from reducing the possibility
of cross-infection and treatment of burns to innovative medical and
surgical techniques all of which had to be introduced to the Sick
Kids.
1980s: The hospital continued to expand and to lead the way in many
aspects of paediatric medicine. By the 1980s the hospital was again in
need of more space and a successful appeal raise the funds to build a
new wing. The three floor extension was formally opened in June 1995
and the vacated wards created a new Paediatric Intensive Care unit.
Today the hospital cares for over 100,000 children and young people a
year from across Lothian and beyond. It provides a comprehensive range
of dedicated children s services including accident and emergency,
acute medical and surgical care, specialist surgical and medical care,
haematology and oncology, day care and critical care.
