Team sprint to finalise designs for Cambridge Children’s Hospital

Since Bouygues UK were appointed as the project’s construction partner in August 2025, there has been a complex process to refine those designs. Staff from across the partner organisations, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust, Cambridge University Hospitals, and the University of Cambridge took part in User Group Meetings (UGMs), along with parent and youth advocates. These were core to completing RIBA Stage 4 of the architectural process.

It was no mean feat! During two weeks in March:

The team held 23 discipline specific workshops, including theatres, radiology, research, and PICU, which amounted to 50+ hours of engagement. Over 100 people were involved in scrutinising 48 sets of drawings and reviewing 1043 rooms and 43,000 items of equipment.

Last month, the project team, clinicians, design and construction partners came together to do final quickfire reviews of 1,076 rooms. This was to make sure that everything was in the right place, everything needed in each room was there, and everything was safe and costed, from call bells to fire panels, toilets to highchairs. The designs are now set ready for the project’s Full Business Case submission.

Malcolm McFrederick, Project Director, said: “We are grateful to every single member of staff from our partner organisations who have been involved in getting us to this stage. Their efforts will ensure that Cambridge Children’s Hospital truly supports the staff, patients and families who come through the doors.”