An Edinburgh children’s hospital has become the first in the world to introduce pioneering new personal navigation technology from Waymap, helping families to travel more easily from home to specific consulting rooms and wards.
The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) at Little France is the first hospital globally to go live with Waymap – a ground-breaking app that guides visitors from their front door directly to the correct hospital department.
Made possible thanks to a partnership between Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC), NHS Lothian, and personal navigation specialist Waymap, the app gives families step-by-step directions both inside and outside the hospital, making visits more accessible and less stressful.
Families like Gilly Bain’s, whose daughters Finty (3) and Mackenzie (6) have been admitted to the RHCYP numerous times with recurrent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other ailments, have already described the app as a gamechanger for navigating hospital visits.
Gilly, Founder & CEO of YOURGB, Edinburgh, said: “Making your way to hospital with a very unwell child is one of the most high-stress moments in any parent’s life. In that moment, the absolute last thing you need is to panic about which building is the right one, or which of the many car parks it is that you’re meant to use.
“This app takes away that added pressure, and it is going to make a world of difference to so, so many families.”
Already in use at major transport hubs, shopping centres and sports stadiums in the UK and around the world, Waymap works indoors, outdoors and underground. It helps people move confidently through unfamiliar spaces, regardless of vision, mobility, or language skills.
Roslyn Neely, CEO of ECHC, said: “Hospital visits can already be a daunting experience, especially for children and families with additional needs. This ground-breaking technology removes one of the biggest sources of anxiety – finding your way.
“Not only will it make journeys to the hospital much simpler by guiding people directly to where they need to be, it will also help to ease anxiety, break down language barriers, and reduce missed appointments.”
The Waymap team carefully mapped the hospital’s indoor physical space using a LIDAR scanner, which uses lasers to map spaces in 3D. The app guides families along clear routes displayed on a smartphone screen or via audio instructions. It is available in multiple languages and integrates with bus and train timetables.
Celso Zuccollo, CEO of Waymap, said: “We are really excited to be making wayfinding easier for children and families visiting the hospital.
“Waymap’s precise personal navigation technology works indoors and outdoors, making it ideal for helping patients, staff and visitors find their way to and around a busy hospital.”
Aris Tyrothoulakis, Service Director, Women’s and Children’s, NHS Lothian, said: “We are proud to be the first hospital in the world to introduce this technology to support our young patients and their families.
“It is about making the journey to and from hospital easier, reducing stress, and helping families to feel more confident and independent from the moment they arrive.”
Dr Olivia Swann, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Consultant, NHS Lothian, said: “My colleagues and I realised we were spending a lot of time helping anxious families find their way around the hospital.
“I was sure we could do this better. My research led me to Waymap and their innovative way of helping people navigate complex indoor settings.
“Working with Waymap and ECHC, we managed to secure funding to bring this amazing app to the families at RHCYP and hope it helps make hospital visits simpler and less stressful for everyone.”
