A £20 global first facility to develop the world’s most advanced and integrated healthcare system for children and young people can now go ahead thanks to a further £6m in funding from the South Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The new centre is expected to create almost 90nnew jobs and generate more than £2billion over the next ten years.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I’m really excited that our region will be home to a project that is the first of its kind, that will improve the health and lives of young children – not just in our communities, but across the country.”
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is developing the centre in partnership with Sheffield City Council and leading property regeneration and placemaking specialist, Scarborough Group International.
Plans for the NCCHT include workshops and clinical spaces, with work focusing on developing technologies to address key national strategic priorities in child health including prevention and health inequalities, children’s mental health, obesity, long term conditions, children’s cancer, and children’s disability.
With 42,000 sq ft of floorspace, the Centre will incorporate the Advanced Neuro-rehabilitation Centre (ANRC), advanced test-bed facility, Creativity and Manufacturing Zone, Paediatric Technology Assessment Zone, and Immersive Technologies Zone and Robotics Centre.
The Centre will accelerate the research, development and evaluation of child health technologies and will join an impressive portfolio of health and wellbeing research facilities at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, including two Sheffield Hallam University venues – the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering, alongside the Park Community Arena, developed by Canon Medical Systems.
Prof Paul Dimitri, Professor of Child Health and Director of Research and Innovation at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The development of the National Centre for Child Health Technology has been cited by industry partners as a global first. It is set to develop the most advanced therapies in the world through digital and technology development for children and young people.
“The current pandemic has brought some challenging child health issues back into stark focus – childhood obesity, mental health, access to healthcare for children with complex health needs and collectively the need to ensure that we protect children as they develop. The National Centre for Child Health Technology will play a central role in ensuring that we advance the way we develop sustainable and transformational healthcare and drive prevention for children to ensure the future is bright.”
