By bridging the gap between clinical excellence, academic research and community insight, this five-year partnership will allow both institutions to work more creatively and collaboratively.
The partnership formalises years of successful cooperation through research projects, student placements and shared academic expertise, moving toward enhanced training, research, and service delivery.
Dr Katherine Birch, Director of Alder Hey Academy, said:
At Alder Hey, everything we do is driven by a simple but powerful ambition: to give children and young people the best possible start in life, not only through outstanding clinical care, but by contributing to the wider conditions that help them thrive. Education, opportunity, innovation and community are central to that mission, as they are to Edge Hill’s.
Both organisations are deeply rooted in this region and proud of the role we play within it. We share a belief that institutions like ours have responsibilities that go beyond our walls: to develop talent, to support social mobility, to contribute to the local economy and to create opportunities together that will shape the futures of generations to come.”
Initially, the partnership will focus on two critical areas at the intersection of health and education:
- Virtual wards, exploring innovative ways to deliver hospital-level care in the home environment.
- Mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention in education and the wider community, supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing in health and school settings.
Alder Hey and Edge Hill will also co-create a comprehensive suite of professional development opportunities, curate resources across both institutions and establish regular collaborative forums to inform future workforce strategies.
The partnership aims to look beyond traditional clinical boundaries, utilising Edge Hill’s expertise in sport and the arts to improve staff resilience as well as patient wellbeing.
Professor George Talbot, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Exchange) said:
As a university, our greatest strength lies in our community and partnership working, and we share with Alder Hey a commitment to our local communities. Our new joint mission is to create knowledge that changes lives, right across the North West.
We look forward to working ever more closely with Alder Hey on connected and complementary areas of expertise, so as to position the region at the forefront of workforce development, in alignment with the Government’s emerging 10-year Health Plan.
As a university partner we aim to offer something which enhances Alder Hey’s mission, whether it be through our network of school connections, our expertise on using sport and the arts to improve people’s lives or our plans for delivering continuing professional development education.”
Edge Hill’s Dr Helen O’Keeffe, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Education, and Colin Johnson, Interim Dean of Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, added:
“By combining clinical, academic and community insights, we aim to enhance training, research and service delivery.
Together, we will co-develop innovative approaches that strengthen the skills of those working with children and young people, support integrated practice and contribute to shaping a happier, healthier, more inclusive future for the next generation.”