Training of health service workers to be transformed by £5m centre
A new £5m centre will "transform" the training of health and social care workers in the region.
The University of Wolverhampton is creating the Marches Centre of Excellence in Health, Allied Health and Social Care at its Priorslee campus in Telford.
The centre will provide training for health professionals and social care workers, and will include a host of state-of-the-art facilities.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, Professor Geoff Layer, said the project would help local NHS providers to meet demand for health workers.
He said: “The new Marches Centre for Excellence in Health, Allied Health and Social Care is part of our ambition to create a more innovative and technologically enabled learning environment.
“This new development will transform the training of health and social care professionals for the Marches area and we would like to thank the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership for sharing and supporting our vision.
“This exciting project builds upon the introduction of nursing provision at our Telford Campus in September 2019.
“This was developed in collaboration with Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and we are continuing to work with local NHS and other health and social care partners to develop courses that meet local demand.”
The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has provided £3.5m of funding for the project.
Mandy Thorn, chair of the Marches LEP, said: “The vital role that key workers play in our society has been all too evident in recent months and this pioneering new centre will ensure that future generations of health and care professionals from this region can be trained in the latest skills and to the highest standards.
“That is good both for the physical and mental wellbeing of this region and its economic vitality. We are delighted to have been able to support the project.”
The centre, which will be based at the Angad Paul Building, will include skills and simulation facilities that can be used across health and social care disciplines.
That includes a room for paramedic science and other disciplines, a mock house, various teaching spaces and new student social spaces, as well as an immersive reality suite for emergency planning and simulations, interview and mock office environments for social work training and student collaboration spaces.
A new Anamotage Room will be created allowing students to ‘see’ inside the human body.
Councillor Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council said the centre would be a huge boost to local health and care services, and also for those looking for new careers.
He said: "It is a massive boost for the university but also for Telford. It means that Telford & Wrekin's young people and adults can access first class health education on the doorstep, but also as a big boost for Shropshire and the wider region, we need more nurses and paramedics and care workers and they will be trained in Telford."
Councillor Davies said he hoped it would ensure a greater supply of workers for local hospitals – which have struggled with recruitment in recent years.
He said: "I have worked really with Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and the university so that those who are training will have job opportunities at the hospitals. One of the things SaTH has said for a long time is they find it difficult to recruit so this could be a really good partnership."
He added: "What I am really delighted about is it is right on our doorstep so people will be able to learn these skills and train for these vitally important jobs without leaving Telford & Wrekin."
For information about studying health courses at the university, visit www.wlv.ac.uk/health.
