Staff from our partner organisations – CUH, CPFT and the University of Cambridge – were invited to the Cambridge Children’s Hospital site where pre-construction works are underway. Sharing this exciting milestone with staff was an exciting moment for the project team.
The weather may have been better suited to January than early Summer, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of dozens of NHS and research staff who visited the Cambridge Children’s Hospital site last week.
Positioned on one of the new access roads created as part of the pre-construction works, visitors were able to see the diggers in action and archaeologists at work. Members of the project team were on hand to talk through the hospital designs, including bringing the floor plans to life; showing the connectivity of the site to the Rosie Hospital and Addenbrooke’s; and sharing the integrated care vision of the new hospital.
Cambridge Children’s Hospital lead nurses Vicky Amiss-Smith and Joanna Carr have been instrumental in ensuring the voices of staff are heard at every stage of the project. They were on hand to talk to people as they stopped by.
Describing her job as a “once-in-a-nursing-career role”, Vicky said, “Seeing the project move from paper to actual groundworks is a very exciting moment and one we feel proud to be a part of."
Welcoming staff to the site was an enormous pleasure and felt like a milestone for us all.
Vicky Amiss-Smith, Clinical Lead Nurse
Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, bringing the treatment of mental and physical health under one roof, alongside research. The project team have been drawing on the expertise of staff who currently work with children and young people at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and at the Ida Darwin mental health wards in Fulbourn, as well as research teams from the University of Cambridge
Looking out over the construction site, Vicky and Joanna were able to orientate staff on where different areas of the new hospital will be located and explained how different services will work alongside each other.
Staff engagement is vital for the design and vision of Cambridge Children’s Hospital. Producing shared work cultures, staff wellbeing spaces and improvements across patient pathways are all important areas for us to collaborate on and design together.
Vicky Amiss-Smith
Cambridge Children's Hospital project is a triumvirate partnership between Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), and the University of Cambridge.
Earlier this month, children and young people also had the opportunity to visit the site and find out about its history. Follow our journey!