Dr Jillian McFadzean
The medical team comprises of PICU senior medical staff and junior/trainee doctors; all doctors have their name and title displayed on their scrubs.
Dr. Tsz-Yan Milly Lo
MB ChB; DCH; MRCP (UK); MRCPCH; PhD.
Consultant Paediatric Intensivist / NRS Career Research Clinician / Hon. Reader
Having completed paediatric intensive care training in Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Melbourne (Australia), Dr. Lo returns to the Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children Hospital in 2010 as a consultant paediatric intensivist and research lead.
Dr. Lo’s research training included successful completion of a PhD degree (under the supervision of Prof. Minns in Edinburgh) and post-doctoral research training in Toronto (Canada) to better understand how life-threatening childhood brain trauma outcome is influenced by acute physiological insults, genetic and biochemical factors. This research training prepared Dr. Lo for the role of Hon. Reader at the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Lo is the first paediatric intensivist to be awarded a prestigious EU research grant to set-up and lead an international data informatics paediatric brain trauma research initiative called KidsBrainIT. Dr. Lo was also the first paediatric intensivist to be awarded an NRS Career Research Fellowship in 2013 to set up and lead the first data informatics improvement research programme in paediatric critical care in the UK (IMPACT-ACE). Dr. Lo has established a significant record of success in securing research grants and awards (over £1 million awarded throughout Dr. Lo’s academic career to-date).
Dr Lo’s research focuses on employing data informatics approach to big data generated from routine clinical care for research to improve patient treatments, outcome, and safety in the paediatric critical care setting. This approach minimises data wastage and helps to unlock vital information and research ideas that allow a more personalised approach to tailor treatment for our patients.
Outside work, Dr. Lo enjoys climbing, ceilidh dancing, street photography, and ice hockey.
Jillian McFadzean MA, FRCA
Jillian completed her undergraduate and early anaesthesia training in Glasgow and then moved to London for registrar and Oxford for senior registrar training in anaesthesia. During the final years of her training she undertook paediatric intensive care medicine training at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and a paediatric anaesthesia fellowship at the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. After the paediatric anaesthesia fellowship she took up the post of consultant in paediatric anaesthesia and intensive care in Edinburgh in 2002. She has been the Lead Clinician for the PICU since 2013.
She completed an MA in Medical Ethics and Law at King’s College London in 2000. She is passionate about Medical ethics- in her words “The application of practical ethics to complex decision making is very important. I think these ethical principles are essential to the practice of medicine and part of being a good doctor. I particularly enjoy teaching the first year medical students as I think it is never too early to embed these principles.” She sits on the RCPCH Medical Ethics and Law Committee, which advises College members on difficult ethical issues and policy and is a member of the APA Safeguarding Plus Working Group which recently received the Humphrey-Davy Award from the Royal College of Anaesthesia.
Jillian is on the steering and clinical advisory group of PICAnet (Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network) which is the independent UK database which coordinates and validates data on paediatric intensive care patients
In her Lead Clinician role in the PICU she is a great advocate for the equality of access to paediatric intensive services in Scotland and works very closely with colleagues in the referring hospitals and ScotSTAR, the paediatric retrieval service. She is equally passionate about quality of team working and the factors which affect it.
Outside work she enjoys cycling, gardening, reading and spending time with family (including much loved Ralph- her dog) and friends.
Dr Laura Fraser
MBChB, MRCPCH
Tutor, MSc Paediatric Critical care, University of Edinburgh
Consultant in Acute Paediatrics with special interest in High Dependency Care
Laura trained in paediatrics across the South-East and East of Scotland and undertook SPIN training in paediatric high dependency care. She took up a consultant post in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Edinburgh in January 2017 working within both the critical care and acute receiving teams. In 2018 Laura led the set up of the new high dependency medical team and critical care outreach team aimed at supporting the care of acutely unwell and deteriorating children within the hospital and she is passionate about developing and continuing to improve this service. Laura is also part of the long term ventilation team and has an interest in the delivery of care to long term/complex patients and palliative care within the critical care setting.
Laura is keen on medical education and is a tutor in the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in Paediatric Critical Care medicine and is a trainer on the paediatric emergency team.
Outside of work Laura likes travelling and exploring, running and spending time with family and friends.
Dr David Armstrong
MBChB, BSC (Med Sci Hons), MD
Consultant Paediatrician with a Special Interest in Respiratory Medicine and High Dependency Care
David moved to Edinburgh from his native Tyneside to study medicine at Edinburgh University in 1999. He quickly fell in love with the city and now calls Edinburgh his home. David took a few years out of his training to work as a Clinical Research Fellow for the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium during their ground-breaking trial of inhaled gene therapy. He then went on to complete a postgraduate degree about “The clinical utility of lung clearance index in cystic fibrosis lung disease”.
In the final years of his training David completed RCPCH SPIN modules in HDU and respiratory medicine. He was appointed as a critical care consultant at RHSC Edinburgh in August 2017 and also works within the respiratory team. Along with Dr Laura Fraser, he has set up a new HDU medical team and critical care outreach team. David has taken over the responsibility for incident reporting and quality assurance in critical care (Datix).
David has a keen interest in education and enjoys contributing to the Paediatric Emergency Team training, medical undergraduate examinations and trainee supervision.
David has been cursed with a passion for Newcastle United and continues to attend as many games as possible, much to the chagrin of his exasperated wife.
Dr NanditaChinchankar
MBBS; MD (paediatrics), India; MRCPCH, UK.
After initial undergraduate education and medical training in India Dr Chinchankar moved to Scotland in 2005 and has since been working at RHSC Edinburgh in Acute Paediatrics, PICU and with the Paediatric retrieval team for Scotland, (ScotStar).
Her special interests are paediatric Critical Care, Retrieval medicine and also Medical and Nursing Education including learning throughMedical Simulation.
She is keenly involved in teaching and mentoring the Critical Care advance nurse practitioners (ANP), teaching on the PICU nursing course- Foundation in Critical Care (paediatrics) and in undergraduate medical student teaching. Dr Chinchankaralso teaches on the GUC paramedic paediatrics study day and does outreach education via regular retrieval feedback sessions to hospitals throughout Scotland.
She is quite the Edinburgh PICU celebrity having featured prominently in the documentary on Scotstar Retrieval Service aired on BBC Alba (https://beesnees.tv/paediatric-rescuecobhair-chloinne-series-2/)
Outside of work Nandita is very much an outdoor athlete; she has been a National swimming champion in India and is now an accomplished triathlete. She loves to dance and is currently learning Bollywood dancing. She is also in charge of organising the social events for the PICU team and ensures that these happen regularly and help keep the team happy and motivated
Dr Lindsay Ford (MBChB, MSc) Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care and Retrieval Medicine
Lindsay trained in paediatrics across the South-East and East of Scotland, before undertaking sub-speciality training in Paediatric Intensive Care in the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow. She took up a consultant post in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Edinburgh in March 2018, and also works as a consultant with the Paediatric ScotSTAR team, undertaking the transfer and retrieval of critically ill infants and children.
Within PICU her areas of interest include retrieval, cardiac, nutrition and education/training. She is committed to using simulation to drive forward improvements in patient care. She is passionate about integrated family care, and is developing ideas to continue to strengthen this within PICU and transport.
With a strong interest in global child health, Lindsay spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya and has spent short periods of time overseas in India and Myanmar. Education and training, alongside public health, are the cornerstones of improving child health globally, and she remains an active member of the RCPCH global child health activities, especially in the development and delivery of the ETAT+ programme (Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment).
Outside work she is an amateur trumpet player with the Prov Johnston Band (amongst others), a keen (but slow) cyclist, and a lover of the Scottish hills!
JDr Catherine McDougall
BScMedSci, MBChB, MRCPCH, MSc, PhD)
Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care and Respiratory Medicine
Catherine trained in Paediatrics in Edinburgh and Aberdeen before undertaking subspecialty training in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine and Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine in Edinburgh, Vancouver and London. She returned to Edinburgh as a consultant in 2012.
Catherine has a particular interest in all forms of respiratory support. She is the lead for paediatric long-term ventilation (LTV) and has established the East of Scotland LTV videoconference network. In addition, she has interests in palliative care and quality improvement initiatives and is passionate about promoting multidisciplinary working within and between specialties.
Catherine has a PhD in airway epithelial cell biology and maintains an active research interest. She is responsible for overseeing the PICU trainees and organises the PICU clinical fellowship programme.
Outside work, Catherine enjoys travelling, baking, reading and walking Dougal the cocker spaniel!
Dr Umair Khan
MBBS, DCH, FRCPCH
Hon senior Clinical Lecturer, University Of Edinburgh
Tutor, MSc Paediatric Critical care, University of Edinburgh
Consultant in Acute Paediatrics and PICU
Umair joined the PICU team at RHSC Edinburgh as Consultant in 2016. He completed his undergraduate and initial medical training and DCH in India and then moved to the UK in 2001 and completed his MRCPCH. He has worked across different health systems in India, the Middle East and UK and is a firm believer in the wider benefits of the NHS system of healthcare.
His special interests within Paediatric Critical Care are Acute Kidney Injury; Nutrition and Rehabilitation in PICU; Palliative Care and High Dependency Care.
Umair is also responsible in setting up and running this PICU website.
He is keen on medical education including use of Simulation in undergraduate and postgraduate education and is a tutor in the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in Paediatric Critical Care medicine. He is also interested in Overseas Doctors training and is an associate of the General Medical Council (GMC) as a PLAB Examiner.
Outside of work Umair is keen on English literature and Urdu poetry, and enjoys Cricket and Tennis. He is a novice in golf having taken up the sport recently and is also the latest member of the PICU cycling team.
Dr Lindsay Ford (MBChB, MSc) Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care and Retrieval Medicine
Lindsay trained in paediatrics across the South-East and East of Scotland, before undertaking sub-speciality training in Paediatric Intensive Care in the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow. She took up a consultant post in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Edinburgh in March 2018, and also works as a consultant with the Paediatric ScotSTAR team, undertaking the transfer and retrieval of critically ill infants and children.
Within PICU her areas of interest include retrieval, cardiac, nutrition and education/training. She is committed to using simulation to drive forward improvements in patient care. She is passionate about integrated family care, and is developing ideas to continue to strengthen this within PICU and transport.
With a strong interest in global child health, Lindsay spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya and has spent short periods of time overseas in India and Myanmar. Education and training, alongside public health, are the cornerstones of improving child health globally, and she remains an active member of the RCPCH global child health activities, especially in the development and delivery of the ETAT+ programme (Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment).
Outside work she is an amateur trumpet player with the Prov Johnston Band (amongst others), a keen (but slow) cyclist, and a lover of the Scottish hills!
Important Information for parents
It is essential if your child needs emergency or urgent treatment in the hospital
that you bring them to the hospital.
Your child will be assessed in the Emergency Department and if your child requires treatment in the Paediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) the Paediatric Critical team will be involved early in stabilising and transferring your child to the PCCU.
We want to reassure parents or carers of children who are receiving treatment in the PCCU at RHSC that as far as possible one parent will be allowed by the bedside with the child. If you are unwell we will ask you to go home and keep in touch via telephone or video-link.
We want to thank patients and visitors for their understanding and following of the restrictions we have in place.
We also want to thank our staff for continuing to care for patients and keeping them safe in response to COVID-19.
We are able to offer vCreate to the parents of children admitted to our paediatric critical care unit. vCreate is a free secure video messaging service that allows clinical staff to record and send video updates to parents. Parents are able to access videos of their child when they are away from the unit to receive reassurance of their child's wellbeing, and to try and reduce any separation anxiety. It is safe, secure and available on any device. When your child is admitted to the paediatric critical care unit, you will be given an information leaflet about this service. If you would like to register for an account to use this, please follow the instructions on the leaflet. If you have any questions, please ask your bedside nurse or one of the vCreate champions, who will be happy to help.