New £24m children’s healthcare facility opens
A £24m children’s healthcare facility has opened in Sheffield, bringing outpatient treatment together with research and the development of health technology. The Spark is home to the National Centre for Child Health Technology, which the NHS trust describes as unique in the UK, and aims to help clinicians, researchers, businesses and children develop products together.
The four-storey centre at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is expected to support more than 200 patients a day. Its first two floors provide outpatient services for areas including diabetes, sleep, physiotherapy and rehabilitation; the other floors focus on research and technology. Facilities include home-like rooms for testing products and a rehabilitation centre with 34 cameras, while funding came from regional and city authorities and Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.
- The Spark is a new £24m children’s healthcare centre in Sheffield.
- It combines outpatient care with health technology research.
- The centre can support more than 200 patients a day.
New here? Start with this
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital and outpatient care for children and young people. Outpatient services allow patients to see specialists, have tests or receive treatment without staying in hospital overnight.
The Spark combines some of these services with research into children’s health and the development of medical technology. Clinicians, researchers, businesses and children can work together to test ideas and products, including in rooms designed to resemble homes.
The centre is part of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, a site for health, sport and research organisations. Its work may affect how children’s treatments and health products are developed, while bringing several services together for patients and families.