MPs seek support for world class health tech centre
Sheffield’s five Labour MPs have written to both Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock to seek their support for the building of a world class Centre for Child Health Technology (CCHT) on the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
The CCHT, would be the first centre of its kind and already has the backing of international companies including IBM Watson Health, Cannon Medical, Phillips, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System.
The move by the MPs comes as Prime Minister announces his New Deal-esque package of infrastructure investment which includes £1.5bn for the building and maintenance of hospitals across the country.
The letter highlights that at a capital cost of £24m the new centre would “deliver excellent value for money and major benefits for the wider health of the economy of Sheffield City Region”
It is envisaged that once developed the centre would include 51,300 sq ft of clinical research space, focused on bringing long term sustainable change to children’s health and wellbeing.
The space would also enable the consoldation of Sheffield Children’s Hospital current research programmes (Technology Innovation Transforming Child Health, Young People MedTech Cooperative).
The group of MPs, which includes, Clive Betts MP (Sheffield South East), Paul Blomfield MP (Sheffield Central), Gill Furniss MP (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough), Louise Haigh MP (Sheffield, Heeley) and Olivia Blake MP (Sheffield, Hallam), suggested that the centre will provide an economic benefits including the acceleration in development and adoption of health tech products, support for SMEs and the chance to create high value job opportunities for the region.
The letter highlights that there is £18m of private sector investment on an adjacent building on the same plot as the CCHT. Which would create an “environment where the NHS, academia and the private sector collaborate in innovations that can be commercialised and a critical mass of health and wellbeing research and innovation.”
