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Minister praises innovative spina bifida service “helping disabled young people grow”

Natalie Don, Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise visited the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh on Wednesday to find out more about a project run by NHS Lothian and Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland.

NHS Lothian’s Spina Bifida Transition Clinic, delivered in partnership with SBH Scotland, brings together all the services needed to enable a young person’s transition from paediatric to adult care and facilitate wider support with transition into adulthood. The Transition Clinic is the only fully integrated clinic of its kind for people with spina bifida in Scotland.

The Minister met with young people and families who benefit from the services provided by the Transition Clinic. Also in attendance were Dr Kamath Tallur, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist and the NHS Lothian team, Lawrence Cowan, CEO of SBH Scotland, and Dr Margo Whiteford CBE, Chair of SBH Scotland.

At the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, the Minister heard firsthand from Jeanette Smith, whose daughter Lucy Abeels, 16, has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, on the positive impact the Transition Clinic has had. She also heard from Louise Macdiarmid whose son Louis, 14, has spina bifida.