̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridge Children’s Hospital

Professor David Rowitch elected to US National Academy of Medicine

cjb250 — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:30:33 +0000

Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honours in the fields of health and medicine and recognises individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“It is a great honour to have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine,” said Professor Rowitch.

Professor Rowitch obtained his PhD from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. His research in the field of developmental neurobiology has focused on glial cells that comprise the ‘white matter’ of the human brain. It has furthered understanding human neonatal brain development as well as white matter injury in premature infants, multiple sclerosis and leukodystrophy. Amongst numerous awards, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2018 and Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021.

Professor Rowitch’s current interest focuses on functional genomic technologies to better diagnose and treat rare neurogenetic disorders in children. He is academic lead for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, developing integrated paediatric physical-mental healthcare and research within the NHS and ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

NAM President Victor J. Dzau said: “This class of new members represents the most exceptional researchers and leaders in health and medicine, who have made significant breakthroughs, led the response to major public health challenges, and advanced health equity.

“Their expertise will be necessary to supporting NAM’s work to address the pressing health and scientific challenges we face today. It is my privilege to welcome these esteemed individuals to the National Academy of Medicine.”

Professor Rowitch is one of 90 regular members and 10 international members announced during the Academy’s annual meeting. New members are elected by current members through a process that recognises individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

Professor David Rowitch, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine in the USA.

Professor David Rowitch

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New report highlights increase in number of children and young people with eating disorders

cjb250 — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:44:52 +0000

̽��ֱ��report is a follow on from the 2017 survey, which six years ago reported an upswing in anxiety, depression and self-harm among young women.

Among other key findings were:

After a rise in prevalence between 2017 and 2020, rates of probable mental disorder remained stable in all age groups between 2022 and 2023.
Among eight to 16 year olds, rates of probable mental disorder were similar for boys and girls, while for 17 to 25 year olds, rates were twice as high for young women than young men.
In 2023, eating disorders were identified in one in eight (12.5%) of 17 to 19 year olds, with rates four times higher in young women (20.8%) than young men (5.1%).
More than one in four children aged eight to 16 years (26.8%) with a probable mental disorder had a parent who could not afford for their child to take part in activities outside school or college, compared with one in 10 (10.3%) of those unlikely to have a mental disorder.
17 to 25 year olds with a probable mental disorder were three times more likely to not be able to afford to take part in activities such as sports, days out, or socialising with friends, compared with those unlikely to have a mental disorder (26.1% compared with 8.3%).
Children aged 11 to 16 years with a probable mental disorder were five times more likely than those unlikely to have a mental disorder to have been bullied in person (36.9% compared with 7.6%). They were also more likely to have been bullied online (10.8% compared with 2.6%).

Professor Tamsin Ford, Head of Psychiatry at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and one of the research leads for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, was one of the report’s authors. She said: “These figures confirm that the huge increase in referrals to clinics for eating disorder services is not just the result of more children and young people seeking help, it’s a sign of more children and young people needing help. There is no single silver bullet to fixing this problem. All services working with children must pull together.”

While not every young person with an eating disorder will require inpatient care, for those that do Professor Ford says Cambridge Children’s Hospital, with its vision of integrated mental and physical healthcare will vastly improve treatment and outcomes.

“These are conditions to be taken very seriously. ̽��ֱ��benefit of having integrated paediatric physical and mental healthcare for children and young people diagnosed with eating disorders is huge,” said Professor Ford.

“If your condition is that severe, you need access to blood tests and the acute medical care that being on an inpatient acute paediatric ward gives you, but at the same time you need the therapeutic environment and support that you would get in a mental health ward.

“What Cambridge Children's Hospital will do is provide both in the same place as opposed to children having to be transferred between locations and only being able to access one part of their care that they need at any one time.”

As the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, Cambridge Children’s Hospital will care for children, young people and their families from Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Every child will be treated for their mental and physical health, with an additional focus on family wellbeing and support.

Professor Ford said mental health problems in the teenage and emerging adult years can massively impact a young person’s future trajectory in terms of education, health, employment, and social skills. She believes Cambridge Children’s Hospital vision of integrated care will help children and young people recover more quickly.

“What we hope is that treating mental and physical health together – a ‘whole child’ approach - will allow us to get children better quicker and get them back to their homes and back attending school, which again will help their ongoing recovery. Children should be in hospital for the shortest possible time.”

̽��ֱ��report was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Education, commissioned by NHS England, and carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, the Office for National Statistics and the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter.

Living with an eating disorder

Summer*, who was diagnosed with an eating disorder during her teens, was cared for in the community before being admitted to an inpatient ward. She says being able to have a clinician treat you from your bedside, rather than being transferred to a hospital, could make a huge difference.

“ ̽��ֱ��physical consequences [of eating disorders] can be huge,” said Summer, who grew up in Essex. “Your vital signs can get dangerously low and long term you can get difficulties, like osteoporosis.

“Self-harming can be quite common in some mental health units and the need to leave for treatment somewhere else can be traumatising for the young person being moved and the other patients who might witness it.”

Summer, who says challenges at home as well as pressure from social media contributed to her becoming ill, added: “It can be a shock being admitted as an inpatient, particularly if you feel you're still functioning well in school or work. It can be difficult to recognise how sick you are.”

*Summer’s name has been changed to protect her identity.

Adapted from a news story from the Cambridge Children’s Hospital

One in five children and young people have a probable mental health condition, according to ̽��ֱ��Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 report, published today. ̽��ֱ��report also reveals a significant rise in those being diagnosed with eating disorders, including a 10% increase among young men and women aged 17-19.

[It's] not just the result of more children and young people seeking help, it’s a sign of more children and young people needing help

Tamsin Ford

Kate Williams

A woman looking out of a window

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New milestone for specialist children’s hospital in the East of England

ta385 — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 10:00:16 +0000

̽��ֱ��Project had its Outline Business Case approved in principle by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care on 29 September 2023. With this approval, which is subject to a review of the Project’s capital funding in April 2024, work can now commence on the Full Business Case for the Project.

̽��ֱ��hospital, which was awarded planning permission in March 2022, is being built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, but will care for children and young people across the whole of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

It will be the first hospital designed to truly provide mental and physical health care together, delivered by staff who are trained in both. While the hospital will be built in Cambridge it will act as a central hub, working with services all over the East of England to provide care and support for children who may never visit the hospital itself.

Dr Rob Heuschkel, Cambridge Children’s Hospital Clinical Lead for Physical Health said: “This is fantastic news for children across the East of England – the only region without a specialist children’s hospital.

“We know there is widespread support across the East of England for this Hospital – from children and their families to our regional colleagues and our regional MPs. Now is the time for us to all work together to turn our plans into reality. I can’t wait to get started on the next stage of this Project. “

̽��ֱ��government committed £100m to Cambridge Children’s Hospital in 2018, under the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership scheme, and the project is on track to meet its target of an additional £100m of philanthropy and fundraising.

Health Minister Lord Markham said: “We are investing in over 70 major new upgrades of NHS facilities across the country so patients can access high quality care in state-of-the-art hospitals, both now and in the years to come. I’m pleased Cambridge Children’s Hospital is now starting on the final stage of its business case with construction planned to begin next year.

“Backed by £100 million of government funding, this hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England and will bring mental and physical healthcare services together to benefit thousands of young people.”

Dr Cathy Walsh, Cambridge Children’s Hospital Clinical Lead for Mental Health, said: “There’s a long way still to go but this is an exciting moment in our journey to building a truly integrated children’s hospital.

“Our young people urgently need a new type of care, delivered by staff who are trained in both mental and physical health care. Cambridge Children’s Hospital will completely transform the future of healthcare for children and their families from across this region.”

̽��ֱ��hospital will also house a ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge world-class research facility focussed on detecting and preventing childhood illness.

Professor David Rowitch, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge Children’s Hospital Research Lead, said: “Cambridge Children’s Hospital will use cutting-edge innovations in genomic science to detect origins of physical and mental health conditions and develop a new model of preventive medicine in paediatrics. We will foster game-changing breakthroughs in life sciences research that will have an impact across the globe.

“Together we can detect childhood disease early or prevent it altogether, personalise health care and deliver it closer to home.”

Members of Cambridge Children’s Hospital Network, which is made up of children, young people and parents from across the region, have been a crucial part of designing the future hospital, and helping to shape how the facility might look and feel like.

Sarah Cobb, 19 from near Cambridge, has multiple disabilities and is visually impaired. She has been involved in the Project for a number of years. She said: “As someone with lifelong health conditions, who’s spent a lot of time in hospital as a child, a teenager and now a young adult, I’m delighted that Cambridge Children’s Hospital has reached this brilliant milestone.

“I feel really honoured to be part of such an inspirational project. This hospital means so much to me and will make such a difference to the mental and physical health of children and young people in future.”

Work continues on finalising the costs and remaining funding streams for this brand new hospital. We will now start developing the final stage of the business case for Cambridge Children’s Hospital’s– the Full Business Case.

Cambridge Children’s Hospital, which will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, has been given the green light to proceed to the final stage of its business case development. This means that pre-construction works can begin on the site of the new hospital, opposite the Rosie Maternity Hospital on Robinson Way, early next year.

Together we can detect childhood disease early or prevent it altogether, personalise health care and deliver it closer to home

David Rowitch

Artist's impression of the entrance to the future Cambridge Children’s Hospital

About Cambridge Children’s Hospital

Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first hospital designed to truly provide mental and physical health care together, delivered by staff who are trained in both.

It is the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, the only region in the UK without one.

̽��ֱ��hospital will fully integrate physical and mental healthcare services under one roof to provide a whole new way of caring for children and young people aged 0-19, including those with cancer.

Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be a national exemplar. Housing ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge research institutes focused on the prevention and early diagnosis of disease, the hospital will deliver game-changing advances in life sciences research.

̽��ֱ��hospital will be built on Europe’s leading life sciences campus, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and is being co-designed with the help of young people, families and healthcare professionals.

Established by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, the hospital is a partnership which brings together clinical expertise and world-leading knowledge.

̽��ֱ��Campaign for Cambridge Children’s Hospital, a partnership between Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), Head to Toe Charity and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge (CUDAR), is committed to raising £100 million from philanthropy and fundraising.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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