Research centre facilities

Our refurbished Clinical Research Facility (CRF) provides a dedicated and patient-centred environment for delivering all phases of clinical trials. It is staffed by an experienced, multi-disciplinary team including nurses, research officers, data managers, research assistants and nurse managers.

Located within Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the CRF is directly next to a medical ward with short walking transfers to Critical Care, the Emergency Department and other inpatient wards.

Key support departments for commercial trials, including radiology, audiology, ophthalmology and theatres are all under one roof enhancing the patient experience and providing smooth delivery.

We also have a dedicated sample processing room on the unit for processing, storage and shipment preparation of biological samples.

Our CRF includes:

• colourful and welcoming research lounge and play area
• three bright and comfortable side rooms for day visits
• a side room with ensuite facilities for overnight stays
• dedicated sensory room
• dedicated phlebotomy room and a well-equipped sample processing room
• Meeting room

The CRF is easily accessible to both patients and sponsors with multi-storey parking and excellent transport links.

Other facilities and equipment for researchers

Skin Barrier Research Hub

Our CRF is a satellite site of the University of Sheffield’s Skin Barrier Research Hub, providing a specialist environment, supported by a skilled team of scientists and clinicians, for the conduct of high-quality human skin research.

We are the only paediatric CRF in the UK to have two specialised consultation and treatment rooms for the delivery of specialist dermatology research. Being fully climate-controlled, the consultation rooms provide optimum conditions for biophysical skin assessments.

Medical Imaging

The paediatric Radiology Department offers a range of services and equipment to support clinical trials. We also utilise the high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT scanner at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for highly specialised bone research. With a growing portfolio of commercial trials requiring medical imaging, all modalities are research active. 

Pharmacy

We have an experienced team of paediatric pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants providing a clinical trials service. Pharmacy facilities include a dedicated clinical trials dispensary, an aseptic preparation suite with positive and negative pressure isolators.

Ophthalmology

The paediatric eye department is specially equipped to assess visual function in children of all ages, hosting a comprehensive ophthalmic imaging and electrophysiology department.

Collaboration with paediatric rheumatology has enabled the setup of the regional paediatric uveitis service in 2010 and transition service with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in 2011, to support early and late phase clinical trials in children and young adults with inflammatory eye disease and associated systemic conditions.

Highly Specialised Sleep Medicine Laboratory

The Sleep House at Sheffield Children’s Hospital is one of only three specialist paediatric sleep centres in the UK providing highly specialised, diagnostic physiological investigations led by Professor Heather Elphick.

New proof-of-concept and early-phase technologies are evaluated in this unit using gold standard polysomnography. Specialised sleep investigations are utilised in treatment phases of early-phase clinical trials.

Respiratory Physiology

Our Respiratory Physiology Laboratory (Action Lab) conducts performance and interpretation of specialist lung function and exercise tests on children aged 3 to 18.

The specialist equipment available for research include Boby Box,  cardiopulmonary exercise test bike, Centrisuite, helium dilution and portable spirometry.

Gait Laboratory

The Trust has a paediatric lab located at the Ryegate Children’s Centre. Our laboratory houses an opto-electronic motion analysis system, force platforms, a light gate system and digital video recording capability.

Our team include advanced gait analysis physiotherapists, clinical scientists and orthopaedic surgeons. The laboratory is one of only 14 in the UK to be accredited by the Clinical Movement Analysis Society of UK and Ireland (CMAS).

Laboratory Services

Our Laboratory Services are provided by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Pathology (SYBP), a partnership of the five acute trusts in South Yorkshire which is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Haematology, Clinical Chemistry and Histopathology laboratories are based within Sheffield Children’s and regularly provide routine safety blood tests required during commercial trials pre and post dose. The SYBP provides access to any additional specialist screening or monitoring pathology required for the delivery of complex commercial research.