NHS Lothian operates a 24/7 service to respond to emergency media enquiries.
For routine media enquiries please contact the team during normal office hours (9.00am – 5.00pm) by telephone 0131 465 5644 or email Lothian.Media@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.
For emergency media enquiries outside normal office hours, please telephone the switchboard on 0131 242 1000 and ask for the on-call Communications contact.
How our communications team can help the media
We endeavour to respond to media enquiries as quickly, and fully, as possible. In order to meet deadlines it is helpful if members of the media can contact us as soon as possible. This is because we may have to contact a number of people in order to gather information, and they are not automatically available, for example because they are busy with patients.
We will often ask for questions to be sent to us in an email. This is valuable in ensuring that every aspect of an enquiry is addressed. For your confidence, and convenience, our team will normally provide a written response that includes a quote from a senior figure within NHS Lothian.
Call us for
- Quotes, responses and interviews for news stories
- Interviews and case studies for features
- Condition checks on patients
- TV, radio or press interview requests for patients or staff
- Written features for publications
Filming requests
Please complete and return form below:
Filming application request form
Condition checks
NHS Lothian is bound by law to only release patient information when they, or their representatives, give explicit consent. We can also only provide information about patients when we are provided with a full name, age and address.
Freedom of Information
Some media enquiries can demand substantial amounts of specialist research by staff in other parts of NHS Lothian, taking a considerable amount of time and needing to be fitted in among their normal duties. If this is the case we will sometimes advise a journalist to make a Freedom of Information request. This can be the best way to ensure full and detailed information.
About the Communications Team
The NHS Lothian Communications Team is responsible for providing an enormous range of information for hundreds of thousands of patients and approximately 24,000 staff. This can include everything from major advertising and health promotion campaigns to the vital information and updates staff need to get their jobs done. The team also deals with large numbers of media enquiries from national and local newspapers, TV, radio and specialist publications.
As the provider of health services to a population of around 800,000 in four council areas (City of Edinburgh, West Lothian, Midlothian and East Lothian), NHS Lothian must be publicly accountable and engage with the community it serves, actively involving it in development plans.
Communicating openly and effectively is a key priority for the organisation. Our communications team is responsible for making information about NHS Lothian’s performance, activities and full range of acute and primary care services widely accessible. Information is targeted at patients and carers, NHS Lothian’s staff, partner organisations, the media, and other interested parties. It provides information, and responds to enquiries about, everything from the three large acute hospitals (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Western General, and St John’s) and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children to primary healthcare services and community hospitals, treatment units and pharmacies.
The team manages both external and internal communications.
External communications range from:
- for the public – website information, social media, reports, patient information and publications.
- for the media – responding to journalists’ queries, researching information, drafting and issuing press releases and statements, compiling feature articles.
Internal communications activities include producing monthly team brief bulletins, the Connections staff newspaper, and intranet information.
