Improving South Yorkshire childrens’ health outcomes
A significant milestone in the shared mission to improve health outcomes for children across the region has been established through the South Yorkshire Children and Young People's Health Research network (SYCPHeR).
This new network, which includes partnerships between the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, and Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, aims to lead cutting-edge therapies and treatments while establishing a direct link between research conducted at both institutions and the the everyday experiences of patients.
The 2024 launch comes at a time when more than 300,000 South Yorkshire children are faring worse than the national average for health outcomes, with disproportionately high levels of social deprivation. Tackling these stark health inequalities and the underlying social causes has always demanded intervention from clinicians and child health specialists working across the region. SYCPHeR aims to bring together this exceptional talent available in South Yorkshire.
Prominent figures from this community, including representatives from healthcare, academia, and local government, attended the launch ceremony and reaffirmed their support and passion for the network's joined-up goals. The Mayor Of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard, delivered an impassioned speech highlighting the crucial role that research plays in enhancing children’s healthcare outcomes in the region.
“The enthusiasm when I come to meetings like this is incredible. There's no shortage of people who are committed to this goal.”
Oliver Coppard
Mayor of South Yorkshire
The network’s research priorities encompass a wide array of areas, including safeguarding and child protection, health inequalities, rare disease, child mental health and wellbeing and child health technologies. Collaborations with local hospitals, educational institutions, and community organisations are already underway, with a strong emphasis on fostering multidisciplinary approaches to research.
“We’ve an amazing opportunity in Sheffield to work together - we need to improve health outcomes for future generations.” ,
Ruth Brown
Chief Executive Officer, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
The president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor Stephen Turner, gave a keynote address at the inaugural event on empowering the next generation of child health researchers.
“We will be guided by the data - everyone sees the need and benefit for clinical research”
Professor Stephen Turner
President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SCYPHeR is committed not only to generating new knowledge but also to translating research findings into tangible improvements in clinical practice and public health policies. With a strong emphasis on patient involvement, the initiative aims to ensure that the voices and needs of children and young people are central to its research agenda.
“People in South Yorkshire are affected by widening health inequality and the region has pockets of high levels of deprivation which impacts on health outcomes. This collaborative network is a really exciting opportunity for the region to begin to address health inequalities, and a chance for us to lead the UK in children and young people’s health through our programmes of research. We are proud to be a partner of this vital research network which will unite world-leading expertise from the city’s two universities with that of our health experts based at Sheffield Children's Hospital to develop patient centred approaches to improve the lives of future generations in our region.” - Professor Jo Smith, Professor of Nursing in Child Health at Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Looking ahead, SCYPHeR will be hosting a seminar series and is poised to become a vital hub for groundbreaking research, with the potential to positively impact the lives of thousands of children and young people in South Yorkshire and beyond.
”The idea of SCYPHeR is very simple, but it actually represents a radically different approach to working across institutions, not least because it brings together a critical mass of healthcare clinicians and social scientists – to cover the whole spectrum of children’s health and well-being. We are much stronger when we work together. ” - Dr Meena Balasubramanian, Co-Director of SYCPHeR and Clinical Director for Research at Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Musculoskeletal Genetics at the University of Sheffield.
‘We were delighted to host the launch of SCYPHeR and to build on this exciting collaboration between the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the Sheffield Children's Hospital. It was fantastic to see representation from a range of professions and to witness new collaborations being formed by researchers working in different sectors and in different disciplines. We are excited to see how the network evolves and want to thank everyone for their contributions and commitment towards making SCYPHeR a reality.” - Dr Katie Ellis Co-Director of SCYPHeR and Senior Lecturer in Child Welfare at the University of Sheffield.