Leading the way nationally and globally

• We have 63 ‘highly specialised’ and ‘specialised’ services that are commissioned nationally by NHS England
• Our 12 highly specialised services include liver disease, liver and small bowel transplants, retinoblastoma (a type of eye cancer), craniofacial surgery, Epidermolysis Bullosa (a rare skin condition) and several rare diseases
• We lead the way for the treatment of major trauma, neonatal and paediatric intensive care, burns, cancer, epilepsy surgery, kidney disease, fetal medicine, genetics services and many others.
• Our leading work led to the development of National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the care of twin and triplet pregnancies.
• We lead the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Rare Disease Translational Research Collaboration project.
• Our NIHR Wellcome Clinical Research Facility supports more than 100 studies, of which more than 60 are in rare diseases, ranging from first in man to early phase and experimental studies.
• We deliver an international programme in neuro-imaging and spectroscopy in childhood brain tumours and inborn errors of metabolism.
• We are home to Tommy's National Miscarriage Research Centre - the largest in Europe - and are leading the way in miscarriage care, advising on and helping to set national standards and NICE guidance.
• Our Genetics Lab is playing a central role in the West Midlands Genomic Medicine Centre as part of the national 100,000 genome project

• We are transforming mental health provision through collaborative initiatives such as Forward Thinking Birmingham, a unique NHS-charity-academic-patient partnership supporting children, adolescents and young adults.
• We are playing a critical role in Bump ​– Birmingham and Solihull Maternity and Newborn Partnership and are the lead for the Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS). Bump is working to revolutionise services by empowering women to access consistent, world-class and holistic care right for them, their baby and their families.
• We are leading the ‘children and young people’ and ‘mothers and infants’ workstreams as a key member of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (ICS).
• Through our membership of Birmingham Health Partners, our strategic alliance with the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, we are shaping and developing the city’s research strategy for women’s and children’s health, aligned with the goals of the Trust and ICS.

We have a strong track record of global impact through our pioneering care and research that has changed clinical practice and improved health outcomes for some of the poorest countries in the world.

• Our research has led to improvements in the timely diagnosis of congenital heart defects through pulse oximetry - an approach now used globally
• Our research into the use of real-time diagnostic information, inspired by the world of Formula 1 racing, looks set to save thousands of young cardiac patients’ lives now it is being used in hospitals globally
• We’re home to Tommy’s National Early Miscarriage Centre for research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth – the largest centre in Europe
• Our expertise and work with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology have led to guidelines and international statements on the management of identical twins who share a placenta (monochorionic twins)
• In collaboration with the World Health Organisation, our clinicians are researching new therapies and care to treat two of the main causes of death during pregnancy and childbirth in poor countries - post-partum haemorrhage and sepsis. They are also conducting a large Medical Research Council-funded clinical trial to define the role of prophylactic antibiotics in miscarriage surgery to prevent fatal infections, which are common in poorer countries

Our teams:

• Are sharing knowledge and expertise to set up a pioneering liver transplantation programme for young children at Pakistan’s Rawalpindi’s Military Hospital, equipping doctors, nurses and surgeons with the skills to run a range of their own services to care for some of the poorest people in Pakistan
• Support craniofacial reconstructive surgery for children suffering from the devastation skin condition, Noma, and those with tumours, trauma and congenital abnormalities in Ethiopia, Africa
• Have a long-standing educational partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi to enhance learning and best practice in healthcare for thousands of African children and young people
• Have helped develop paediatric kidney services in Trinidad, the West Indies, which have resulted in several life-changing transplants
• Have supported the urology team in Zanzibar, Africa, and operated on children with congenital and traumatic genital abnormalities
• Have led the Malaysian Cardiac Partnership since 2008 to help develop services, operate on complex cases, and train and mentor their staff in partnership with Children’s Heartlink (a world leader in heart surgery, medical device development and global philanthropy) and the Department of Health
• Have worked with hospitals in Spain, Germany, India and the Philippines to perform heart operations on some of their most complex young patients
• Helped the Australian Health Authority review its national Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome service provision
• Have supported Germany with its review of its cardiac surgery programme
• Through the ECMO Programme (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), recognised as an International Centre of Excellence by the world governing body ELSA, our experts have helped train new teams in essential life support skills at hospitals in the UK, South Africa, Malaysia and Belgium.