Overview
The Emergency Department is open 24hr per day 7 days a week and treats children with minor to major trauma and illness from birth to 15 years. Once a child reaches their 16th birthday they should attend the adult Emergency Department, ARI, which is just next door.
We are the only dedicated children’s Emergency Department in the north of Scotland and part of a major trauma centre, providing essential specialist care to children with major acute injuries.
The Emergency Department does not provide the following:
- Telephone advice
- Treatment of minor illnesses
- Second opinions on pre-existing conditions
For urgent care that is not life or limb threatening, all parents/ carers are advised to call NHS 24 by phoning 111. This is available 24/7 and can help families find the most suitable treatment they need at a convenient location, which might not always be the Emergency Department. Patient with minor injuries are often given an appointment to attend our Flow Navigation Clinic at a time when the department isn’t as busy to save long waiting times in the departments for patients and families.
We also have a variety of other clinics within the ED, including orthopaedics and nurse led clinics due to the easy proximity of the plaster room and the skills our team possess.
At times families attending the department may be re-directed to another service. All children that attend the department will be triaged by a Paediatric Staff Nurse who will take a patient history and carry out a set of observations. If the child does not need seen by an Emergency Department doctor we will help you arrange to be seen by the most appropriate service such as GP, G-Meds, Optician or Dentist. More information can be found under the ‘KNOW WHO TO TURN TO’ section below.
Before Attending
Please give your child pain relief if they have an injury or are in pain. This is not going to mask an injury or illness and will be the first thing we do after nurse assessment to ensure they are as comfortable as possible. This also allows to carry out a full and more accurate assessment of your child.
What to Expect When You Attend
All children that attend by car/ public transport/ foot will enter via our main front door and book in at our reception. Our reception team will ask a couple of basic questions to ensure they have the right child and next of kin along with contact details as well as reason for attendance before you will be directed to take a seat in our waiting room to await triage assessment. During busy periods you may have to wait to be assessed but rest assured our reception team highlight any concerns they have to our nurse in charge.
If a child arrives after you but is called through before, please do not think this means you have been missed. As we also run clinics from the department, this child may be here to see a different practitioner or they may be immunocompromised or be an infection risk to others (chicken pox etc).
When your child is called through to be seen by the triage nurse, they will take a history of the complaint and examine your child including checking observations such as temperature and heart rate where appropriate. Based on this assessment your child will be given a triage score based on their presentation and treatment commenced such as medications or further investigations such as x-rays.
Children with more severe or urgent conditions will be prioritised and seen sooner rather than in order of arrival. We do have toys, crafts and refreshments for use during longer waiting times to keep you and your child comfortable and distracted where possible.
Our Location Within RACH
The Children’s Emergency Department entrance is to the right hand side of the Adult Emergency Department, beside the brightly coloured poles.
There is limited parking outside the Emergency Departments, please park in the main Children’s carpark down the hill, beside the giraffes, where possible. There are disabled spaces and a drop off zone in this area also.
You can access further information about Getting to RACH and Parking at RACH.
KNOW WHO TO TURN TO
Excluding clinic patients, we care for over 18,500 patients a year with our busiest months being May and September. It is important that children and young people with emergency and life threatening conditions are seen quickly, and that all of our patients receive the best possible care.
We understand it is difficult to know who to turn to for the most appropriate advice and support. For children with minor illnesses, injuries or complaints help and support can be found in more appropriate places- please visit know who to turn to for information and guidance.
NHS 24
NHS 24 have many useful resources on their website including mental health resources and self help guides. Phone 111…
- before you attend A&E or
- if you think you need A&E, but it’s not a critical emergency.
This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will provide you with urgent care. You will be assessed for a range of concerns including cuts, burns, suspected broken bones, sprains and other injuries or illnesses.
This may involve a telephone or video consultation with a clinician from your local health board or an appointment to attend A&E or Minor Injuries unit, avoiding a long wait in a hospital waiting roo.
Pharmacy
Telephone or pop into your local pharmacy to get expert advice or information on healthcare, as well as help with your medicines.
Your pharmacy team will:
- Dispense your prescription.
- Help if you run out of your regular repeat prescription.
- Advise on medicines and advise, assess and provide treatment if required, for a range of minor ailments on the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service.
- Provide services including emergency hormonal contraception and treatment for mild UTI symptoms in women over 16.
Dentist
If you are registered with a dentist:
You should contact your dental practice for an appointment. Even if your practice is closed, you should hear a message which provides details of their out of hours arrangements for providing advice and treatment.
Outside normal working hours (between 6pm and 8am on weekdays or anytime at weekends), if you have an URGENT dental need, please contact NHS 24 on 111.
If you are not registered with a dentist:
Help is available by contacting the NHS Grampian Dental Information and Advice Line DIAL on 0345 45 65 990. This service is available between 8.05am – 6.00pm (Mon-Fri) and can also be used if you are just visiting the Grampian area and cannot wait until you see your local dentist. For URGENT dental problems that occur between 6pm and 8am or any time at weekends, you should call NHS 24 on 111.
Are you worried about persistent mouth, tooth or gum problems? Contact your dentist to discuss further.
Optician
If you have an eye problem, you can make an emergency appointment with an optician (also known as an optometrist).These appointments are provided free by the NHS and will ensure you receive the right specialist care as soon as possible.
Opticians (optometrists) have the same specialist equipment as specialist eye doctors (hospital ophthalmologists) and may be able to treat and manage your eye problem without a need for you to go anywhere else. They can also refer you to the hospital eye clinic if necessary.
To make an emergency appointment, telephone your optician/optometrist or contact NHS 24 on 111.
All initial contact with an optometry practice must be made by telephone or e-mail. Please do not turn up at the practice without an appointment.
Please note: if your optician cannot allocate you an appointment, within the advised timeframe they will arrange an alternative at another practice. You may need to travel.
Your GP
When you have a medical condition that just won’t go away, contact your General Practice (GP) either by phone or eConsult.
Your GP, or a member of the extended clinical team, will provide advice, information and carry out an examination if clinically indicated and will arrange appropriate treatment prescriptions.
The clinician can refer you to another specialist healthcare professional if clinically required.
When your GP surgery is closed, and you’re too ill to wait until it re-opens, you can access appropriate out of hours services through NHS 24 on 111.
Your local NHS out of hours primary care service works with NHS 24 to make sure that urgent medical advice and care is always available to you. In NHS Grampian this out of hours service is known as GMED.
Midwife/ Health Visitor
If you have concerns around your baby under 11 days of age for issues such as feeding issues or weight loss please contact your midwife.
For concerns about your child under school age, please contact your health visitor for concerns around their development, weight, vaccinations etc.
Other Useful Resources
Breathing Space– Breathing Space is a free confidential service for people in Scotland. Open up when you’re feeling down – phone 0800 83 85 87
Our Team
As an emergency Department, we have many visiting specialities from elsewhere inside RACH and ARI.
Our Emergency Doctors and Physician Associates work between ARI and RACH emergency departments and specialise in emergency medicine.
We have a specific Advanced Paediatric Nurse Practitioner who works only in RACH ED specialising in paediatric emergency care.
Our nursing staff work are Paediatric trained and work between the Children’s Emergency Department and Paediatric Assessment Unit alongside our Health Care Support Workers.
Monday- Friday 0730-1600 we have Orthopaedic Practitioners working within our plaster room. They are certified in the application of casts and specialised splinting and also provide training to our nursing staff so we are able to provide our most commonly used casts for patients outside of these hours.
We have a dedicated reception team 7 days a week, although not 24 hour.
Please watch the attached video to see some of our nursing and medical team. This was recorded when we hosted a conference, delivering education on sepsis recognition and treatment in children to other health professionals.
Feedback
To provide our team with feedback about your care please do so by emailing the NHS Grampian feedback team via- gram.nhsgrampianfeedback@nhs.scot
