21 years of pioneering children's sleep medicine service

The Evelina London sleep service first opened in 2005, when there were very few comprehensive children's sleep centres in the UK. At the time, children with sleep problems were treated by the adult sleep service at the Trust.

Together, Jane Orgill, principal clinical physiologist, and Professor Paul Gringras, sleep and neurodisability consultant, established a children's sleep service to better meet the needs of children and young people and their families who needed support.

While at first it was helping around 50 patients a year, this number has increased to over 3,000, making it one of the busiest sleep services in Europe.

The team has grown to include sleep consultants, respiratory consultants, neurophysiologists, sleep physiologists, sleep psychologists and sleep health visitors, all helping children and families feel rested, supported, and understood.

They treat a range of conditions including insomnia (regularly having problems sleeping), breathing difficulties while sleeping, and complex disorders such as narcolepsy (a condition which prevents someone from choosing when to wake up or sleep).

Highlights from over the years include:

• developing evidence-based, age-appropriate sleep lesson packs for secondary schools, sixth forms and colleges to tackle sleep problems in children and young people more widely
• launching the first sleep diary app to use a unique colour palette that emits light that won’t disturb sleep
• being one of the first services to offer a home respiratory polygraphy (test to monitor breathing while sleeping) service, which later allowed them to support patients safely during COVID-19
• developing a resource pack of top tips for sleeping well for teenagers to support physical, mental and emotional health

Paul said: "We've grown from an acorn into an oak tree. What makes us unique is our holistic approach, caring for children with both breathing and neurological sleep disorders, and our integration of research with clinical practice. Our focus has always been to provide the highest standard of care, and it is immensely rewarding to see the impact this has had on thousands of families. I'm incredibly proud of what we’ve built together."