Rob HeuschkelClinician

Biography

Dr Rob Heuschkel is a Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke's Hospital) and Clinical Director for the Cambridge Children's Hospital Project. He trained at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, undertook specialist paediatric gastroenterology training at several London hospitals, and completed 14 months at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 1999–2000. He was appointed as a Consultant in 2000 at the Royal Free Hospital and has been based at Addenbrooke's since 2008, where he established the regional paediatric gastroenterology service for the East of England. He served as Divisional Director for Women and Children's Services for seven years before becoming Clinical Director for the Cambridge Children's Hospital Project, championing the integration of mental and physical healthcare for children under one roof. He is a published researcher with a particular focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children and has argued publicly that psychological care must be embedded in treatment for children with gastrointestinal conditions.

References

1. 1.Rob Heuschkel – Cambridge Centre for Children's Gut Health — Current role, clinical and management responsibilities, divisional director history, IBD research activity
2. 2.Robert Heuschkel – Cambridge Paediatric Practice — Medical training history (St Mary's, Boston Children's/Harvard), appointment at Royal Free 2000, Addenbrooke's from 2008, publications list
3. 3.Cambridge Children's Hospital: A Whole New Way – University of Cambridge Alumni — Title of Clinical Director for Cambridge Children's Hospital Project; appointment as Divisional Director for Women's and Paediatric Division 2013–2020; role establishing regional gastroenterology service
4. 4.Cambridge Children's Hospital moves ahead as plans approved by ministers – University of Cambridge — Outline Business Case signed off by Treasury and DHSC; Heuschkel quoted as Clinical Lead for Physical Health
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Children's health

Stated areas of expertise

• Paediatric gastroenterology
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children
• Integrated mental and physical healthcare for children
• Children's hospital design and service development
• Paediatric nutrition and gut health
• East of England children's health infrastructure

Notable achievements

• Appointed Clinical Director for the Cambridge Children's Hospital Project, the first specialist children's hospital planned for the East of England, with construction partner Bouygues UK appointed and build due to start in 2027. Source ↗
• Established the regional paediatric gastroenterology service for the East of England at Addenbrooke's Hospital after joining in 2008. Source ↗
• Served as Divisional Director for Women and Children's Services at Cambridge University Hospitals for seven years. Source ↗
• Cambridge Children's Hospital Outline Business Case signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, enabling the project to move to contractor appointment. Source ↗
• Co-authored ESPGHAN position paper on management of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children and adolescents, published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (2015). Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “[The hospital] will include an embedded research institute focused on early intervention, and a hospital school working with children's own schools to keep education on track, as well as extending specialist support into communities through stronger links with social care and home nursing.”

  clinical lead for physical health at Cambridge children's hospital · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Hundreds of children stuck in hospital because of lack of community services ↗

• “I think being a consultant who's working and seeing patients every day, you really understand the urgency and the importance of this new building. Children around the region will be able to get specialist inpatient pediatric care at this hospital, which is provided in a completely different way by integrating mental and physical health, having facilities that really are looking to provide an environment where you can heal and get better in a way that we can't do in the current facilities.”

  consultant paediatric gastroenterologist and clinical director for Cambridge Children's Hospital Project · Children's health · 27 Aug 2026 · In pictures: Panda Meander trail supporters inspired by tour of Cambridge Children’s Hospital site ↗

Source references

1. Hundreds of children stuck in hospital because of lack of community servicestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. In pictures: Panda Meander trail supporters inspired by tour of Cambridge Children’s Hospital sitecambridgeindependent.co.uk · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://ccgh.medschl.cam.ac.uk/about/rob-heuschkelpublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.cambridgechildrens.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/
• Press office emailcuh.press@nhs.netpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.