The East of England needs a specialist children's hospital. It's the only region in the country without one. Plans to right this are now moving at speed.
Work to design and build Cambridge Children's Hospital is incredibly exciting, with hundreds of people involved, from architects and engineers, to NHS staff and families. We will bring the treatment of mental health and physical health together under one roof, alongside world-leading research.
Spread over five floors, this unique facility will include 108 inpatient beds, 16 paediatric intensive care beds, 42 day-case beds, seven operating theatres, imaging and diagnostics, hospital school, and a 5000 sq m research institute.
The idea of a specialist children's hospital in Cambridge has been bubbling around for decades. Follow this page to keep up to date on how we are making this a reality.
August 2025
Construction partner appointed for Cambridge Children’s Hospital
The Cambridge Children’s Hospital project has reached a major new milestone with the appointment of Bouygues UK as its construction partner.
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October 2024
Cambridge Children's Hospital hoardings go up
Families and special guests, including the Children's Commissioner, visited the hoardings at the front of the new hospital site
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August 2024
Ministers approve Cambridge Children’s Hospital plans
Plans for Cambridge Children’s Hospital can move ahead following the news that the Outline Business Case for the project has been signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
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May 2024
New East of England children’s hospital one step closer
A capital affordability review by NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care’s Joint Investment Committee (JIC) has resulted in a recommendation to Ministers for final approval of our Outline Business Case.
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April 2024
Staff enjoy drop-in session at children's hospital site
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.
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April 2024
Children and young people visit new hospital site
We invited two groups of children and young people, who have been involved in shaping the development of Cambridge Children's Hospital, to visit the site and meet the archaeologists
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March 2024
Digging Down: Archaeology on the new hospital site
The archaeological works are a vital part of the work to prepare the Cambridge Children's Hospital site for construction next year.
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March 2024
TV star Doctor Xand visits Cambridge Children's Hospital team
TV's Dr Xand van Tulleken met the Cambridge Children's Hospital team, parents and young people to learn more about our work to build the East of England's first specialist children's hospital.
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February 2024
Preparation work begins on Cambridge Children’s Hospital site
After many years in the pipeline, work to make Cambridge Children's Hospital a reality has reached a new milestone after the diggers moved in to start preparing the site for construction next year.
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December 2023
Fundraising Campaign passes halfway mark
The Cambridge Children's Hospital fundraising campaign is over halfway to its £100 million target, with over £56 million secured in pledges and gifts.
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September 2023
Outline Business Case approved, in principle
The Project had its Outline Business Case approved in principle by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, allowing pre-construction works to go ahead.
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August 2023
Youth Forums recruitment
Young people signed up for our two forums - one for age 14-18 and one for young adults age 19-25 - with their first meeting held in early September.
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April 2023
Engaging with children and young people across the East
As the first specialist children's hospital for the East of England, it's important we hear from people all over the region.
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May 2023
Funding for Cambridge Children's Hospital
An explanation on how we are funding the region's first specialist children's hospital.
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March 2023
Inspiration from overseas
Cambridge Children's Hospital team visited two hospitals in Sweden for learning and inspiration.
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January 2023
Outline Business Case submitted
The submission was made just before Christmas 2022 to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.
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July 2022
Establishing Coproduction
Kate, one of our parent champions, talks about why it's vital people with lived experience support decision making.
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June 2022
A Royal visit
Our young ambassadors and project team meet the Prince and Princess of Wales at Cambridgeshire County Day.
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March 2022
Planning permission granted
The early external hospital designs received the thumbs up from the Cambridge City Council planning committee.
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January 2022
'Food, with Care' conference
To launch the development of our food strategy for Cambridge Children's Hospital, we hosted a day-long conference.
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November 2021
Planning application submitted
The submission of the formal ‘reserved matters’ planning application built on the existing outline planning permission, which was granted previously.
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August 2021
Early stage designs submitted
A significant step forward, not only in planning terms, but in sharing our vision for ‘a whole new way’.
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March 2021
Fundraising campaign launches
Our campaign team committed to raising £100 million from philanthropy and fundraising to make our plans a reality.
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January 2021
Design team announced
The appointment of the design team, following a competitive tender process lasting several months, was a major milestone for the project.
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December 2020
Cambridge Children's Network launches
Children, young people and families from across the East of England were invited to get involved in the project.
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