Members of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project recently visited Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health in London to gather insights from the new centre’s programme team that will help inform the next phase of our own hospital project.
Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health, due to open to patients in summer 2027, is being built by Bouygues UK, Cambridge Children’s Hospital’s construction partner. Once work on the new centre in Camden in complete, members of the Bouygues UK project and construction team will move on to Cambridge Children’s Hospital in 2027.
Staff from Cambridge were invited to take a tour the new centre, exploring key areas including the atrium, operating theatres, consulting rooms, and the staff rooftop terrace.
The team also explored how the design of the new centre design supports patients, families and staff, and discussed lessons learned during construction, operational planning, and transitioning of staff and services.
Vicky Amiss-Smith, Clinical Lead Nurse for Cambridge Children’s Hospital said: “Visiting Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health was a brilliant opportunity for the Cambridge Children’s Hospital team. Learning from other hospital developments helps us understand the challenges they have faced, consider different approaches and apply those lessons to our own project.
“Seeing inside was inspiring and made us even more excited about the next steps for Cambridge Children’s Hospital. The visit challenged our thinking and gave us valuable insights as we prepare for the next phase of the project.
"The visit helped us visualise what Cambridge Children's Hospital will mean for staff, patients and families in future, and reinforced the importance of the decisions we are making today."
The insights gathered during the visit will now be shared with the wider project team, as well as partner organisations and staff, helping Cambridge Children’s Hospital prepare effectively for construction.
Collaboration remains central to Cambridge Children’s Hospital. Since Bouygues UK was appointed as construction partner, the project team has been working closely with colleagues, patients, families and partners to refine the designs and prepare for construction. The visit provided an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Bouygues UK approach to delivering complex healthcare facilities.
As Cambridge Children's Hospital moves closer to construction, visits such as these provide valuable opportunities to learn from other pioneering healthcare developments and apply those insights to create a world-class hospital for staff, children, young people and their families.
“Seeing inside Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health was inspiring and made us even more excited about the next steps for Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Vicky Amiss-Smith- Clinical Lead Nurse for Cambridge Children's Hospital
