Information
Welcome to the NHS Lothian Corporate Parenting RefHelp page. In addition to this page you can find further information on the NHS Lothian Corporate Parenting Online Hub. The link is located in the Resources and Links tab below.
Understanding Corporate Parenting
NHS Lothian is by law considered a Corporate Parent. This means as an organisation and as employees we have a responsibility to provide care and support for children and young people who are in the care system. We extend this responsibility to individuals with Care Experience up to the age of 26, treating them with the same care and support as we would our own children.
A person will be described as Care Experienced if they have been in care at any point in their life, regardless of duration. This includes kinship, secure, residential, foster care or being at home under a supervision order.
In 2020, the Independent Care Review: The Promise was published as a framework to work towards:
- Providing a more nurturing and supportive care system for children and young people in Scotland
- Ensuring all children receive the same things they need to thrive: a stable home, strong support and steady, loving relationships
- Creating a positive and nurturing environment for growth and development
- Ensuring they have access to education, health services, social activities, and support during transition to adulthood.
For more information regarding Corporate Parenting, please see the video below
C.W. & K.O. 19-10-23
| Name of Service | What does it provide? | Contact Details |
| NHS Lothian Care Experienced Nursing Service | NHS Lothian’s Care Experienced Children’s Nursing Team offer a service to Children and Young People up to the age of 16 years who may be living at home or away from home in kinship care, foster care or residential units. The nursing team can help with: Providing initial and annual health assessments GP and dental registration Arranging referrals for specialised and universal services Arranging immunisations | Please call 0131 312 0505 |
| Through Care and After Care Nursing Team | The Through Care and After Care Nursing Team offer a service to young people aged 16-26 years old who have had any care experience during their life. The nursing team can help with: Providing annual health assessments – for more information GP and dental registration Arranging referrals for specialised and universal services Arranging immunisations | Please email: loth.tcacnursingservices@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk |
- Information about support on offer from Edinburgh, West Lothian, East Lothian and Midlothian councils, and third sector organisations can be found here: Council-and-Third-Sector-Support-for-Care-Experienced-Children.pdf
- NHS Lothian has it’s own Corporate Parenting intranet page
- Information about The Promise which Scotland made to care experienced children and young people— that they will grow up loved, safe and respected
- The Scottish Government have developed guidance in relation to children at risk of becoming Looked After.
Other relevant information
| NHS Lothian Family Nurse Partnership | The Family Nurse partnership is a programme offered to young first-time parents to assist them with positive parenting from early pregnancy until the child reaches the age of 2 years old. Care Experienced young people can access the programme up to the age of 25 years at their last period. | Please call 0131 659 4735. |
| GP Registration | Information about registering with a GP can be found at Patient Registration – General Practitioners (GPs) (nhslothian.scot) . We encourage all patients to directly register with their local GP practice. We have a statutory duty to ensure all patients can register with a GP. | Please email: loth.primarycareenquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk. |
| Dental Registration | Information about registering with a dentist can be found https://services.nhslothian.scot/dentists/. There you can find a list of dental practices are accepting new NHS patients, this regularly updated. | Urgent dental care for non-registered patients is available at Chalmers Emergency Dental Centre, contact details can be found https://services.nhslothian.scot/dentists/emergency-dental-care/. |
