Daniel Zeichner, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, has today welcomed the news that the Government will be investing up to £100 million to help facilitate the delivery of a Children’s Hospital in Cambridge, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. Local paediatric experts have been campaigning for the new hospital for some time due to a need to enhance the provision of paediatric healthcare across the East of England.

Daniel Zeichner MP said: “This announcement is a rare piece of good cheer in a pretty bleak political landscape at the moment. Local experts in paediatric care have long been pressing for a Children’s Hospital for the region and I have been very pleased in the past to meet with them and give my support.“

“Paediatric services are currently dispersed across the Addenbrookes site, and regional provision is limited, so this will benefit people across the East, and enhance research opportunities in Cambridge. However, additional fundraising will almost certainly be needed to turn this scheme into reality, and it is announced against a backdrop of huge pressure on our local NHS. Cambridgeshire has a deficit of £42m locally this year alone and significant shortages of staff, with many operations cancelled earlier this year. It is welcomed news, but what the NHS really needed for Christmas was significant support now, not promises for tomorrow.”

 Mr Zeichner met with local experts championing the plans earlier this year. It was discussed how the Cambridge Children’s Hospital proposes to integrate innovative models of care with research facilities. The ambition is that the hospital, developed alongside a research institute, will assist in delivering life science priorities in mental health, genomic medicine, rare diseases, learning disabilities and health records research.