NHS Lothian’s specially designed, purpose-built Children’s services website (children.nhslothian.scot) has received awards recognition as the project becomes a finalist in the leading Scottish Digital Transformation Awards.
The website, which was designed in collaboration with children and young people, their families, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Family Council and NHS staff is packed with useful information to help support the health and wellbeing of children and young people across Lothian and will also provide vital information for those attending appointments.
NHS Lothian worked with Passion4Social, a social enterprise that nurtures the talent of people with disabilities, to develop and build the site with funding made available through Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity.
Through a series of engagement workshops and questionnaires, the views of children and young people, their families, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Family Council and NHS staff were sought.
Equipped with this information, the NHS Lothian team and Passion4Social built a site reflective of the wants and needs of each group, but which fundamentally puts children and young people front and centre.
The result is a website that is full of important information such as reassurance on what to expect if you are coming to hospital, information on different conditions and helpful guidance on the facilities that are available within our hospital sites.
Zoe Paige, Project Manager, Children’s Services said, “Creating a website for children, young people and their families has been an impressive example of teamwork, creativity and collaboration with colleagues from across Children’s Services and our funding partner Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity.
“We worked hard to put ourselves in our families’ shoes and design a website that puts children at the heart of their healthcare. The site includes videos to show what our wards look like, information about hospital facilities, interactive maps, as well as pages written for children and young people, reassuring them about what to expect whether they’re coming as an outpatient or staying overnight. There really is no other hospital website like this in the UK.”
The Children’s Services website launched in March 2021 and since then has seen large numbers of daily visitors accessing the pages.
Allister Short, Service Director, Women’s and Children’s Services, NHS Lothian added, “Being shortlisted in the Herald’s Digital Transformation Awards in the Digital Communities category is testament to everyone’s hard work and commitment to this project. We are incredibly proud of everything that has been achieved so far in such a short period of time. The Children’s Services site is a real asset to families coming to our hospitals or who are accessing healthcare services within the community.”
The Children’s Services website (children.nhslothian.scot) continues to expand to include additional information for children, young people and their families.
Alongside the Children’s Services website, the service has two dedicated social media channels (LothianChildHealth on Facebook and @LothianChildren on Twitter) which share the latest news and updates from across Children’s Services.
