Helipad

The new helipad will reduce delays for patients who need urgent critical care from across South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, and offer privacy and dignity. Sheffield Children’s is one of only five dedicated Major Trauma Centres in England, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Air ambulances currently have to land in Weston Park, where trauma patients are then stretchered across a busy road under a police escort before entering the Emergency Department.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital is a dedicated Major Trauma Centre (MTC) and is only one of five dedicated paediatric Major Trauma Centres in England.

We are the only MTC in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire that receives children under 16 years of age and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. It also provides emergency services for Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.

Attending a dedicated paediatric Major Trauma Centre improves chances of your child surviving. Studies have concluded that wherever possible, major trauma patients under 16 years should attend a dedicated paediatric MTC first for the best possible outcome.

At present, air ambulances can only land in a public park opposite the hospital. This is only usable in daylight hours, which particularly restricts its use during winter months, and cannot be used during public events (around 30 days a year). It is also across from the busy A57 which causes further delays during the one time you don’t want children waiting for the green man – this is why we need our own helipad. A helipad will also provide patients with privacy and dignity as they arrive at Sheffield Children’s.

The helipad on the roof will also mean patients can land and be transferred anytime with flood lighting that would be lit during take-offs and landings. When the weather sets in, there would be a long-lasting de-icer spray (the same kind that they use at airports!) used, so that ice and snow do not disrupt the continued use of the facility during periods of inclement weather.

The Children’s Hospital Charity has been tirelessly fundraising to build a new helipad, which will make a huge difference, and in March 2023 we reached the target. Building work has started and the new helipad should be complete by Summer 2024. It will allow Sheffield Children’s to become far more accessible as a regional centre. Air ambulances will be able to land directly onto the hospital, meaning patients will have quicker and easier access to the urgent care they need.

The new helipad means we can get critically ill or injured patients to the right place, with the right team and provide vital early care and management.