A new children's hospital has thrown open its doors for a sneak peak two weeks before patients move in.

The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People at Little France will replace the current hospital in Sciennes and will form part of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh campus.

The views of children and staff were taken on board when designing the look of the new facility.

A spinal wall feature, which runs throughout the hospital, shows the texture of skin taken from imprints from three patients and magnified to show up in 3D.

The 242-bed hospital will include ten theatres, four MRI scanners and outdoor play areas.

The main waiting area even features a dragon, as well as a number of interactive games.

It's hoped these features will help patients feel as relaxed as possible when coming to hospital.

Tim Davison, chief executive of NHS Lothian, said the new facility has been long awaited for.

"This is a fantastically significant day, we've been planning for a new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People for an awful long time," he explained.

"This fantastic building that will be opening over the course of the next two to three weeks brings together three separate services currently provided on different sites around Edinburgh.

"It brings together the current Royal Hospital for Sick Children based at the Meadows, it brings the Department of Clinical Neurosciences which are neurology and neurosurgery services from the Western General Hospital to this site and also child and adolescent mental health services which are currently located at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital."

The £150m development had originally been scheduled to open in 2012 but a number of issues pushed the opening date back.

The hospital is part of a bigger strategy to designate the building as a major trauma centre.