This funding cements Sheffield Children’s position as a national leader in paediatric innovation and technology, hosting the only HRC solely dedicated to child health within the NIHR’s nationwide network.

The NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Paediatrics and Child Health (NIHR HRC PCH) will collaborate with prestigious partners including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Cambridge Children’s Hospital, the University of Cambridge, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Liverpool. The HRC’s mission is to bring together cross-sector expertise to develop cutting-edge early-life technology to support the health and healthcare of babies, children and young people.

The HRC will work with industry partners, offering exciting opportunities for collaboration. These partners will play a pivotal role in the unique paediatric healthcare technology ecosystem, significantly shaping the future of child health. The technologies developed by the HRC are poised to bring about transformative changes in areas such as neonatal health, long-term conditions, rare diseases in children, transition to adult services, and child mental health, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and data.

This £3 million grant complements the over £23 million already raised through Sheffield Children’s groundbreaking Technology Innovation Transforming Child Health (TITCH) Network and the NIHR Children and Young People MedTech Cooperative. Together with the forthcoming National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) in Sheffield, the HRC reinforces Sheffield’s status as a leading UK and international centre for paediatric healthcare technology, marking a new era for the city as a global hub in this field.

Professor Paul Dimitri, Clinical Director of Innovation and Technology at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is a historic milestone positioning Sheffield at the forefront of paediatric technology and innovation worldwide. The HRC and NCCHT will pioneer the health technologies of tomorrow, delivering transformative improvements in NHS care that will benefit generations to come. We aim to create a lasting legacy for children’s health.”