New £24m children's healthcare facility opens

A multi-million-pound children's healthcare facility has opened in Sheffield.

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust has officially welcomed patients to The Spark, a £24m facility that is home to the National Centre for Child Health Technology.

Located at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in Attercliffe, the centre is described as "the only one of its kind" in the UK by NHS bosses and aims to bring together "healthcare, innovation and technology development".

The centre will support more than 200 patients a day while enabling the development and testing of new health technologies.

Ruth Brown, the chief executive of Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said the vision for The Spark started 10 years ago.

"What we wanted to do in a healthcare setting was have an environment where we could work together with our patients, our clinicians, academics and businesses and have a space where we develop technology with and for children," said Brown.

The four-storey building in Attercliffe is next to the University Technical College and the Cannon Medical Arena, which is home to basketball teams Sheffield Sharks and Sheffield Hatters.

The first two floors are dedicated to outpatient care, focusing on diabetes, sleep, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

The remaining two floors focus on new technology and research.

Brown said the facility allowed academics and clinicians to develop technology and research with patients in "real time".

One feature of The Spark is a test centre with rooms designed to resemble a home, including a bedroom and kitchen.

Children can try out new products in familiar surroundings and learn how to use them at home.

A large rehabilitation centre has 34 state-of-the-art video cameras set up around the room to monitor, test and develop products with children.

Peter, 11, one of The Spark's first patients, uses hybrid closed-loop therapy to help manage his diabetes, alongside the DigiBete app.

The schoolboy, who will return for treatment every three months, described the facility as "very new and fancy".

The Spark was delivered in partnership with HBC Construction Limited, with funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity.

Sheffield Children's will celebrate its 150th anniversary on 14 November at The Spark.

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