Child Health is increasingly becoming a multi-agency service and a lot of work is carried out with the 3 local authorities – Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray – in terms of planning, funding, management etc. The service also works closely with voluntary agencies.
Acute care is provided at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. Acute care is currently provided up to 14 years of age, although there is some flexibility with this for individual children. All aspects of outpatient, inpatient and daycase care is provided. RACH is a teaching hospital so undergraduate and postgraduate teaching takes place.
The hospital’s paediatric department can be contacted directly 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Community care is provided at various locations:
- Raeden Pre-School Assessment Centre for children with special needs
- Schools across Grampian
- Health Centres across Grampian
- Child Development Teams across Aberdeenshire, providing medical and therapeutic care to children with special needs
The North of Scotland paediatric neuromuscular service is supported by the Scottish Muscle Network. The Scottish Muscle Network (SMN) is a national managed clinical network (NMCN) originally established in 1998 with charitable funding from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. The SMN is now funded by NHS National Services Division (NSD).
How to access the service
Patients can be referred to the service by a consultant or GP.
The team
Dr Helen Gregory
Neuromuscular Specialist GP
Other key people in the team can be found: www.smn.scot.nhs.uk
Clinics
Children
Clinics are held at Royal Aberdeen Sick Childrens Hospital, Raigmore Hospital, Kings Cross Hospital and Ninewells Hospital
- Neuromuscular clinics
- Neurorespiratory Clinic held in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee