The CHUV inaugurates the new Children’s Hospital
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The new Children’s Hospital opens on 14 May 2025 at the end of a complex construction project that began in 2019 in the heart of Lausanne’s hospital district. The building will bring together the majority of the CHUV’s paediatric activities, currently spread over two sites, in a place designed specifically to meet the needs of children, adolescents and their families.
On 14 May 2025, the CHUV’s new Children’s Hospital will officially open its doors to patients in a setting specially designed for 0-18 year olds and their families. This ambitious project, the fruit of several years of reflection, embodies a strong commitment: to offer cutting-edge multidisciplinary care tailored to each stage of a child’s development. The modern, welcoming setting will benefit patients and staff alike.
Quality care for children and a tailor-made environment
Overlooking the CHUV metro station, opposite the main hospital building, the new Children’s Hospital occupies a strategic location in Lausanne, at the heart of the city’s hospitals. Its inauguration marks a historic turning point for children’s care in French-speaking Switzerland, updating the way paediatric care is conceived and delivered at the CHUV. With its modern infrastructure, welcoming environment, centralised services and commitment to safe, high-quality and innovative care, the Children’s Hospital is redefining healthcare standards for young patients.
Until now, the CHUV’s paediatric activities have been spread over two sites in Lausanne: the Children’s Hospital (chemin de Montétan 16) and the Cité Hospitalière (rue du Bugnon 46). From May 2025, the majority of paediatric activities (hospital admissions, general and specialist consultations, paediatric emergencies, radiology and operating theatre) will gradually move to the new Children’s Hospital (rue du Bugnon 50), providing a welcome opportunity for consolidation.
Improved flow of care
The amalgamation of the Paediatrics Department and the Child and Adolescent Surgery Department, which are part of the CHUV’s Mother and Child Department, eliminates the sometimes tedious round trips between the two sites (Montétan and Bugnon). It also provides rapid access to the Maternity Unit and the technical facilities of the CHUV’s main hospital building, and facilitates coordination between teams working in different fields. As a result, patients and their families benefit from an optimised and more fluid care pathway. Directly connected to the Maternity Ward building, which houses the gynaecology, obstetrics and neonatology departments, the new building completes the creation of a coherent and efficient mother and child unit.
University paediatric expertise under one roof
From cardiology and oncology to paediatric surgery, emergency medicine, pulmonology and ENT, the CHUV’s university paediatric expertise is now grouped together on a single site, with the aim of providing comprehensive care for children and adolescents.
Financed by the public authorities to the tune of €204 million for its construction and equipment (loans granted by the Grand Council of the Canton of Vaud in 2013 and 2017), the Children’s Hospital is a project developed by a consortium of GMP Architekten of Hamburg and Ferrari Architectes of Lausanne. One of the many challenges of this complex project, which will be carried out between 2019 and the end of 2024, has been to maintain the activity of the neighbouring CHUV buildings and the metro station during the works. The structure, which blends judiciously into the urban landscape and restores a frontage on Rue du Bugnon, takes the form of an inverted ‘L’.
Relaxation areas, therapeutic garden and playground
In addition to providing cutting-edge care, the Children’s Hospital has set itself the task of meeting the specific needs of its young patients and their families in terms of reception, comfort and environment. Families now benefit from warmer, more functional spaces: play and relaxation areas are available on each hospital floor, and bedrooms are equipped with benches that can be converted into single beds, giving parents the chance to sleep next to their child. The hospital also has a fully-equipped classroom for in-hospital schooling, a public cafeteria and a meeting place for teenagers. A 3,000 m2 roof terrace with a therapeutic garden and play area completes this tailor-made environment, offering a bubble of oxygen at the heart of the hospital.
Protecting and caring for the younger generation‘
’Beyond the medical and technological aspects, the opening of this hospital reflects a deep commitment to the health and well-being of children,” emphasises State Councillor Rebecca Ruiz, head of the Department of Health and Social Action. It symbolises the importance of caring for the most vulnerable, and reminds us that a society’s future depends on its ability to protect and care for the younger generations. For healthcare professionals, the Children’s Hospital is an opportunity to work in an environment where excellence is a priority. For families, it is a promise of hope and serenity: knowing that their children can receive the best possible care in a setting designed with them in mind”.
The teams will begin moving into the new hospital on 8 May. The Children’s Hospital will cease operations at chemin de Montétan 16 on 14 May 2025, the date of the official opening of the Children’s Hospital. A public information campaign on this transition will be conducted from the end of April 2025.
The face of the hospital complex, transformed by this new hospital, will change even further. Ultimately, the people of Lausanne will be able to enjoy a largely planted esplanade in front of the CHUV, with bike shelters and benches in particular.
➡️ Source: CHUV. 📸 CHUV 2025 | WEBER Gilles