Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first specialist children's hospital for the East of England. It will be unique in bringing together the treatment of mental and physical health under one roof, alongside world-leading research.
The children and young people, involved in the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project, enjoyed a visit to the future hospital site on Friday 12 April, opposite the Rosie Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, as the archaeological dig is underway.
Since Cambridge Children’s Network was launched three years ago, dozens of children, young people and families from all over the East of England have been involved in shaping the new hospital’s design.
The younger children, age 6-13, arrived first, with their parents and carers. Chris Wakefield from Cambridge Archaeological Unit, talked about the history of the landscape. Behind him, the archaeologists were busy scraping away layers of earth to reveal the Bronze Age and Roman field systems beneath.
This was followed by a fascinating 'show and tell' of artefacts found on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the wider Cambridgeshire area, with children and teenagers having a go at making their own Roman-style pots.
Walter, aged 6, members of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Network, said:
“I am excited about the new hospital as there will be more toys and I won’t be so bored. I hope there will be some cool paintings on the wall. It was cool learning about the Roman pottery and I got to make the best pot of my life.”
Later in the afternoon, members of our Youth Forum (teenagers age 14-18) enjoyed a site visit and had their first face-to-face meeting. They got to work thinking about the new hospital’s school and how to reintegrate back into mainstream school after being poorly. Chaired by Fintan, 16, the team talked openly and honestly about their own healthcare experiences, all of which will provide valuable feedback for the development of our new hospital school.
Ann, aged 17 and member of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Youth Forum said:
Meeting people from the Youth Forum in person was definitely a rewarding experience, as we quickly bonded and generated some excellent ideas together!
Luke, aged 16, and member of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Youth Forum said:
“Ideas becoming reality. This will make such a massive difference from when I was in hospital, mixing physical and mental health together in a state-of-the-art designed building. Being there and seeing the progress was just amazing!
Pre-constructions works are underway to prepare the land for full construction works, set to begin later in 2025.
