Sheffield Children’s marks 150 years with launch of new centre for child health innovation and regional collaboration

The opening of The Spark, a £24 million centre for the development of child health technology, and the appointment of South Yorkshire’s first regional Deputy Mayor for Health mark a significant milestone in ambitions to improve children’s health and wellbeing across the region and beyond.

Organisations across South Yorkshire are coming together to invest in a healthier future for children and young people, as Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust celebrates 150 years of pioneering care, research and innovation.

The opening of The Spark, Sheffield Children’s £24 million state-of-the-art facility at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and home to the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), marks a new chapter in the Trust’s commitment to transforming children’s health, with young people at the heart.

Funded by the NHS, SYMCA, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, The Spark will provide a unique environment for collaboration, innovation and investment. The ambition is to accelerate the development of new child health technologies and approaches to care that improve the lives of children and young people, working alongside them to do so.

For 150 years, Sheffield Children’s has evolved to meet the changing needs of children and families, combining specialist healthcare with research and innovation to improve health outcomes. That legacy is providing the foundation for a new era of collaboration to address the challenges facing children’s health today and in the future.

In line with the NHS aim to focus on prevention of illness and disease through earlier intervention and use of technology to diagnose and manage conditions, The Spark will bring together partners from across health, education, research, industry and the voluntary sector to develop solutions that respond to the needs of children and young people.

The milestone coincides with the announcement of South Yorkshire’s first regional Deputy Mayor for Health, reinforcing a shared ambition to improve health outcomes and tackle inequalities across the region.

As Sheffield Children’s looks ahead to its next 150 years, The Spark represents a commitment together with partners to lead the way in South Yorkshire to working differently, putting children and young people at the heart of innovation and creating healthier futures for generations to come.

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said:

“For 150 years, Sheffield Children’s has been driven by a simple belief: every child deserves a healthy future.

“The opening of The Spark represents an exciting new chapter in that commitment. By bringing children together with healthcare, research, technology and industry, we have an opportunity to develop new solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing children’s health.

“Together with our partners across South Yorkshire and beyond, we want to create a future where innovation leads to better outcomes for and with children and young people, wherever they live.”

Health Minister Baroness Merron said: 

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people must remain a shared priority. 

“The opening of The Spark is an important milestone, bringing together healthcare, research, technology and industry to drive innovation and develop new approaches to children’s healthcare. 

“Sheffield Children’s has a proud 150-year history of pioneering care and innovation, and this new centre builds on that legacy. By putting children and young people at the heart of research and development, and strengthening collaboration across the region and beyond, we can help ensure that advances in technology and healthcare translate into better outcomes, reduce inequalities and create healthier futures for generations to come.”

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: 

“The Spark is an investment in our future, putting children, young people and their families at the heart of some of the most exciting work happening here in South Yorkshire.

“This new centre will help children get the care they need, giving families hope and support, and finding new and better ways to help young people live happier, healthier lives.

“By bringing together our NHS, universities, researchers and businesses, The Spark will harness the world-class innovation we have here in South Yorkshire and turn pioneering ideas into real-world solutions.

 “And in the year Sheffield Children’s celebrates its 150th birthday, it feels particularly special to be opening the only centre of its kind in the country, if not the world, right here in South Yorkshire. The work going on at the Spark is built on an incredible legacy, but will continue the pioneering spirit that has always been at the heart of Sheffield Children’s Hospital.”

Cllr Ruth Abbey, Deputy Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, said: 

“The opening of The Spark is a major milestone for Sheffield and another example of the pioneering work taking place at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.

“We’re proud to have supported this £24 million centre, which draws on Sheffield’s strengths in health, research, technology and innovation to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing children and young people.

“It also has an important part to play in the regeneration of Attercliffe. Our ambition for the Don Valley Corridor is to bring together new homes, jobs, transport and investment with Sheffield’s strengths in innovation, and developments like this show that transformation is already happening.

“Most importantly, this is about improving lives and The Spark has the potential to make a real difference to families not just in Sheffield but in South Yorkshire and much further afield.”

John Armstrong, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, said: 

“The opening of the National Centre for Child Health Technology is a brilliant example of what we can achieve when people come together with a shared ambition to improve children’s healthcare. We’re incredibly proud to be part of this collaborative effort, alongside so many partners, organisations and generous supporters who have helped make it possible. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has played a part. Their commitment shows what we can achieve when we work together to create healthier futures for children and young people.

“We’re delighted that this world-leading facility is based here in South Yorkshire, and excited about the potential for research taking place here to improve healthcare for children and young people across the UK and beyond. It’s wonderful to see such ambition and collaboration coming together here, with the potential to make a lasting difference to generations of children.”