Cambridge Children's Hospital

02/04/2026

The voices of children, young people, parents and carers are at the forefront of the Cambridge Children's Hospital project - and always have been.

We hugely value the many people who give their time and share their lived experiences, to support the development of the first specialist children's hospital for the East of England.

This is why we were thrilled that some of our youth and parent advocates were able to join a panel discussion with Dr Xand van Tulleken at our conference last week. They talked movingly about the power of the patient and carer voice in shaping services.

01/04/2026

"Thinking about children's mental health, their wellbeing, their education, I love that in the vision for Cambridge Children's Hospital."

We were delighted to be joined by the Children's Commissioner for England at our first healthcare conference last week.

Dame Rachel de Souza says she's a "massive supporter" of our approach to fully integrate mental and physical healthcare under one roof, with a world-leading research institute embedded inside the building.

Read more: https://orlo.uk/mfOV1

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
University of Cambridge

01/04/2026

Let's make the Cambridge Children's Hospital vision stand out! One of the highlights of last week's conference was giving delegates the opportunity to get hands on and create brightly coloured 'A Whole New Way' prints to take home. We also invited them to pledge their support for the East of England's first specialist children's hospital. Would you like to pledge yours, too? 👉 https://orlo.uk/jh1Js

Cambridge Children's Hospital will be unique in bringing together physical and mental healthcare under one roof, alongside world-leading research. We are pioneering a whole new way of caring for children and young people across the region, and beyond.

30/03/2026

We hosted our inaugural conference on Friday - and it was a huge success! 👏 The event celebrated the pioneering work that is shaping the future of children’s healthcare. We welcomed over a hundred delegates and high profile guests including the Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza and broadcaster Dr Xand van Tulleken. More than twenty speakers took to the stage, with subjects ranging from:

🔸 The importance of removing the siloes of mental and physical healthcare
🔹 A ground-breaking initiative designed to close the evidence and infrastructure gap in children’s health
🔸 Rapid whole genome sequencing for childhood cancer
🔹 How the lived experience of patients and their carers is shaping Cambridge Children’s Hospital.

Held at Murray Edwards College in Cambridge, the event was sponsored by the project’s construction partner Bouygues UK. Read the full story > https://orlo.uk/JXMNK

Located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be a world first in fully integrating mental and physical healthcare under one roof, with a world-leading research institute embedded in the heart of the building. It will bring specialist care closer to home giving children and families across the East of England better, more equitable access to the care they need with less time away from school, home and community. The Full Business Case will be submitted to government later this year, with construction expected to start in 2027 and last for three years.

27/03/2026

What an incredible day at the first ever Cambridge Children's Hospital conference!

Here are some highlights:
🎯 Over 100 delegates
🎯 More than 20 speakers
🎯 Keynote speech by The Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza
🎯 TV's Dr Xand van Tulleken talking coproduction with young people and parents
🎯 Breakout sessions: food, school, art, construction
🎯 Stunning artwork created to take home
🎯 Networking and chat!

Thank you to everyone who was involved, as an attendee, a speaker, or facilitator. Want to see a snapshot? Watch the video!

We will sharing more about the conference next week. Watch this space!

27/03/2026

We were thrilled to hear from The Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel deSouza at our conference, following the launch of her report earlier this week that highlights the thousands of young patients awaiting discharge from hospital.

She used the event to focus on key problems in health policy, but also how paying attention to children, whether as family, as professionals, or as services, is the basis of care and ultimately love.

Read our response to Dame Rachel’s report > https://tinyurl.com/4e86rdw8

27/03/2026

What a great panel discussion!

Dr Xand van Tulleken chatting with members of our Youth and Parent Groups about the importance of lived experience in shaping current and future services.

27/03/2026

The stage is set for our inaugural conference today – A Whole New Way: Shaping the future of children’s healthcare.

Our speakers will present some of the most exciting advances in paediatric medicine, including the importance of breaking down the siloes between mental and physical healthcare. Additionally, we will be hearing from the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza.

A fantastic day lies ahead and we are excited to welcome our delegates.

Find out more about Cambridge Children's Hospital -> www.cambridgechildrens.org.uk

27/03/2026

Big news! One of our fundraising partners Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust - help make your hospitals even better has announced it's bringing the Pandameander27 sculpture trail to Cambridge in Spring 2027. Working with creative partners Wild in Art, the trail will see between 30 and 40 giant panda sculptures set along a route, taking in some of Cambridge’s most iconic landmarks, along with some mini pandas designed by local schools and community groups. The trail partner is Cheffins Property.

Money raised will fund transformative projects across children’s services at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, including helping to build the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Read more > https://tinyurl.com/3u8ey7m2
🐼🥰

www.pandameander.co.uk

Instagram: .meander
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For ten unforgettable weeks in spring 2027, Addenbrooke’s Charity is bringing pandas to grace the streets, parks and open spaces of Cambridge, each one individually decorated by a talented artist and sponsored by a local business or organisation. Together, they’ll form a free, family-friendly art trail celebrating everything that makes our community special and raise vital funds to ensure that care is given to those who need it most. 🐼

Money raised through our Panda Meander public art trail will be used to help us build the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, as well as supporting the children and their families who are treated across Children’s Services at Cambridge University Hospitals. 💙

25/03/2026

As part of his campaign, 18-year-old Luke says it can be a real struggle to pack your hospital bag if you have to come into hospital for any length of time. He came up with a great idea for a 'This or That' game to help other children think about what they might need to take. Brilliant job, Luke!
Read Luke's story > https://orlo.uk/amk16

24/03/2026

We had so much fun at Cambridge Festival exploring what makes a playful hospital and creating a dream den!
Children's imaginations ran wild, with ideas ranging from a hospital garden full of opportunities for adventure to furniture that would spark joy for patient and families on the wards. We had some incredible feedback from real 'play experts' and a chance to understand what children of all ages really want from future Cambridge Children's Hospital spaces.

23/03/2026

The Cambridge Children's Hospital Clinical and Research Leads have today responded to the Children's Commissioner for England's report that highlights the long periods that many children and young people spend waiting to be discharged from hospital. Dame Rachel de Souza will be reflecting on this in her speech to delegates at our inaugural conference on Friday.

The findings of Dame Rachel's report reveal children are spending tens of thousands of days stuck in hospital when they don’t need to be because the support they need to go home is not available. Read the Commissioner's report and our full response > https://orlo.uk/JdpJC

"As we develop the first specialist children's hospital for the East of England, our vision is that children should spend the shortest possible time in hospital. We are already addressing the need for embedded links with social care. We will be a hub for equitable community care, enhancing home nursing through virtual wards, supporting local services in the care of rare or complex cases, and ensuring that the additional mental health needs of children with physical illness are not a barrier to recovery." - Cambridge Children's Hospital Clinical and Research Leads