The Royal Hospital for Sick Children was a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

Sciennes Sciennes (pronounced , ) is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated approximately south of the city centre. It is a mainly residential district, although it is also well-known as the site of the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children. ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, specialising in

paediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Prev ...

healthcare. Locally, it was commonly referred to simply as the "Sick Kids". The hospital provided emergency care for children from birth to their 13th birthday, including a specialist

Accident and Emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

facility. Some in-patient specialties saw children up to their 16th birthday. The hospital was located on Sciennes Road in the

area of Edinburgh's South Side and was managed by

NHS Lothian NHS Lothian is one of the 14 regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in the City of Edinburgh (council area), City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian council areas. Its headquarters are at Mainpoint 102 West ...

. It moved in 2021 to the new

Royal Hospital for Children and Young People The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People is a hospital that specialises in paediatric healthcare based in Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is ...

Little France Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7, approximately south of the city centre. The area falls within the parish of Liberton in the south-east of the city. It acquired its name from members of the e ...

History

The hospital, which opened at 7 Lauriston Lane in 1860, was the first dedicated children's hospital in Scotland. It received a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

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 Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

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 Mary Erskine (1629 – 2 June 1707) was a Scottish businesswoman and philanthropist, who donated money to set up the girls' school which is now known as The Mary Erskine School and also the Trades Maiden Hospital (now known as the Trades Maiden ...

) at Rillbank was bought in the early 1890s, and plans for a new hospital were put in hand to designs by

George Washington Browne Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout ...

. The Sciennes Road building, which cost £50,000, was opened by

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Ch ...

on 31 October 1895. The hospital joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1948. The

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

, visited it in November 2014. In February 2015 construction work began on the

, which replaced the hospital in 2021. A video ''Mail Porter'' was commissioned in 2015 from filmmaker Sandie Jamieson, with music scored by Derek Williams to commemorate the closing of the Sciennes site. In December 2016 the existing site was offered for sale as a development opportunity with the expectation of significant interest. In September 2017 NHS Lothian decided to sell the site to the Downing Group, a Liverpool-based property developer. Sick kids demolition

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children closed on 23 March 2021. The Downing Group started work on the redevelopment of the site in June 2021.

Fundraising

In 2011, 6-year old Jack Henderson started an initiative to raise money for the hospital that cared for his brother, by selling 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.

Architecture of the Sciennes Site

Some of the buildings that make up the hospital at the Sciennes Road site have listed building status designated by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

. * The main

building is designated as category B. * The

mortuary chapel A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of ...

(also by Washington Browne) is designated as category A as it contains a mural scheme by the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

artist

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included larg ...

References

External links

Royal Hospital for Sick Children
NHS Lothian web site {{authority control Hospitals in Edinburgh Hospital buildings completed in 1863 Defunct hospitals in Scotland Children's hospitals in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed hospital buildings in Scotland NHS Lothian 1860 establishments in Scotland Hospitals established in 1860 Organisations based in Edinburgh with royal patronage Hospitals disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Scotland Defunct children's hospitals in the United Kingdom