Chief Executive of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority visits Sheffield Children’s

Sheffield Children’s welcomed Chief Executive of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Katharine Hammond to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. 

Visiting Sheffield Children’s for the first time since she started in May 2025, Katharine was keen to learn all about the various ways in which teams at Sheffield Children’s delivers outstanding care for children, young people and families across South Yorkshire and beyond. Alongside Chief Executive at Sheffield Children’s, Ruth Brown, Katharine visited the Research Department, Emergency Department and the Safeguarding Support Unit (SSU) at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. 

Katharine said: “It was inspiring to spend time with the hardworking nurses and doctors at Sheffield Children’s Hospital – a hugely important and welcoming place for families from across the region, and beyond, and a vital part of improving the health of the residents of South Yorkshire.”

Sheffield Children’s is proud to have opened the first paediatric clinical research facility in the UK in 2008 and has continued to host studies across a wide range of clinical specialities over the following years. After launching our most recent Research and Innovation Strategy in 2023, the team at Sheffield Children’s are keen to build on the over 329 research studies that the Trust has overseen as of 2024/25. 

The Emergency Department at Sheffield Children’s was next on Katharine’s journey, meeting Dr Helen Stewart, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. Sheffield Children’s is the only paediatric major trauma centre covering South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw, North Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire, and the Emergency Department continues to be one of the top-performing in the country. Last year, the department saw over 90% of the 62,000 children and young people within four hours.  

Finally, Katharine spoke to members of the Safeguarding Team at Sheffield Children’s, visiting SSU and learning all about the Paediatric Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at Sheffield Children’s. The safeguarding team deliver full assessments of children and young people where there have been safeguarding concerns raised. The service delivers care where there are concerns of neglect, alongside physical, sexual and emotional abuse.  

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive at Sheffield Children’s, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Katharine to Sheffield Children’s. There is a wide variety of outstanding work happening across Sheffield Children’s, and we were proud to be able to share a small portion of that. We have traditionally maintained a very close working relationship with SYMCA and are looking forward to further building this relationship as we head towards Sheffield Children’s 150^th anniversary.”