New Children's Hospital in Dundee

The Children's Hospital in Dundee will take another step forward tomorrow when the Principal of the University of Dundee, Sir Alan Langlands cuts the turf for a new build at Ninewells - the second phase of the Tayside Institute of Child Health.

Phase 2 of TICH heralds the start of the Children's Hospital proper. The new build, costing £4.2 million and scheduled to be completed between March 2003 and January 2004 will house outpatients, a dedicated children's operating theatre, a daycare centre, overnight accommodation for parents and a play centre. In addition, there will be a research unit of clinical and epidemiological studies with a particular focus on the prevention of disease complications in childhood.

Professor Richard Olver, Head of the Tayside Institute of Child Health at the University of Dundee said: "Phase 2 will see our dream of having a specialised children's hospital in Dundee become a reality. There is evidence that many adult diseases such as heart disease and diabetes have their origins in childhood. The children's hospital is vital to provide better healthcare facilities for children and to link these facilities with research that investigates how diseases begin in childhood.

With its emphasis on integration of research and clinical care and with access to all the facilities of a large general hospital, we will create a new kind of children's hospital at Ninewells which is distinctively different to children's hospitals elsewhere."

Phase 1, with its new laboratories for research into lung disease in newborn babies, cystic fibrosis and sudden infant death syndrome was opened formally in November 1999. Together, phases one and two with a new entrance will be built adjacent to the existing children's wards which will themselves undergo a major upgrade.

The Children's Hospital project, spearheaded by the University of Dundee and Tayside University Hospital Trust, involves several charitable trusts and foundations. £2.1 million was awarded by the Scottish Executive with the remaining costs met by the University of Dundee, Tayside University Hospitals Trust and Scottish Enterprise Tayside.

Ronald McDonald Children's Charities (RMCC) has given £310,000 towards the provision of a family room in TICH. The family room is a place for families to stay together when they need it most by providing 'home away from home' accommodation for the parents and siblings of seriously ill children.

Paul Porter, Operations Consultant for the Dundee area of RMCC said: "The room at Ninewells will enable parents to be within walking distance of their children at a critical time. We are delighted to be aiding the progression of the Tayside Institute of Child Health."

The next phase of the project will take place within the Western ward block at Ninewells, where a new dedicated paediatric operating theatre will built. A major new upgrade of the existing children's wards and Infectious Diseases Unit, to bring them to the level of the recently refurbished (£1 million) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will take place. A new enlarged children's outpatients will be created adjacent to the new daycare centre being constructed in the new building. Phase 2a is scheduled to start in October 2002 and finish in January 2004 ./ENDS

Contact Professor Richard Olver 01382 660111 ext.32179

Notes for Editors
The new facilities will include:

1. A new Entrance and covered walkway leading to the existing children's wards at the Western end of Ninewells giving direct access to the Children's Hospital and Tayside Institute of Child Health.
2. An enlarged Outpatient Clinic, located between the Daycare Unit and children's wards. This development will help us meet the demands of the changing pattern of care, with a lesser emphasis on admission to hospital and a corresponding increase in provision of care in Outpatients and the Daycare Centre.
3. A dedicated and fully equipped Children's Operating Theatre with an adjacent 10 bed surgical ward
4. A Daycare Centre, incorporating the 'Blue Peter Cystic Fibrosis Daycare Unit', adjacent to the new Outpatient Clinic, for the treatment of children who do not require a full hospital admission. This will allow for the integration of care between home and hospital and a more efficient deployment of staff to care for children. A unique feature is the planned Information Room with computer links to the Internet to give patients and their carers access to up-to-date information about their condition.
5. A Clinical and Epidemiological Research Centre, for research into the prevention of disease complications: diabetes, cystic fibrosis, prematurity, and the study of the impact of infant and child nutrition on health and development. Research on asthma and cystic fibrosis will be supported by a new lung function laboratory with state of the art equipment, including an infant plethysmograph which will be the only one of its kind in Scotland and the North of England.
6. A Paediatric Education and Training Area comprising a computer suite, reading room and library, and seminar room for doctors, nurses and medical students.
7. A Family Accommodation Suite for parents and relatives funded by Ronald McDonald Children's Charity. Current facilities are quite inadequate and this development provides an attractive solution to the problem with seven rooms with en-suite facilities, a kitchen/dining room and laundry room.