Students benefit from hands-on experience at new £5m health and social care centre

December 10, 2021

The first students to gain hands-on experience and training at the University of Wolverhampton’s new £5million health and social care centre in Telford have praised the state-of-the-art facilities.     

The Marches Centre of Excellence for Health and Social Care officially opened in May 2021, and the first cohort of students are now benefitting from the latest technology and innovative training facilities.   

Based at the University’s Telford Campus, the Centre received £3.5m Growth Deal funding and includes teaching spaces such as a mock house and simulated hospital settings.     

It is providing students with industry-leading technology and experiences to equip them with the skills needed for a career on the frontline, as well as enabling those already working in the health and social care sector to gain new skills.   

The Centre is proactively addressing shortfalls in health professionals across the Marches area, with an emphasis on local people and students who will become key workers within the region.     

Lecturer in Adult Nursing, Alexandra Douglas, said:

“We have a range of facilities here in our labs that enable our students to recreate real-life situations and scenarios in a safe and controlled manner. It’s an all-around theory and simulation base of learning that has direct links to practice in whichever area they end up working in.   

“With the investment that’s currently coming to our Telford Campus, in particular with the Marches development, it creates a level of engagement which is so important with building on our relationships within the community, as well as with both formal and informal health and social care providers, which helps students identify, understand and eventually manage our local community’s health needs.”  

Matthew Weston, a third-year Adult Nursing student studying at the Centre, said:

“Just before you qualify it’s scary, so to be able to practice on state-of-the-art equipment and realistic scenarios that we are going to be working with out in practice and when we qualify, it’s definitely a massive improvement and benefit for us.”  

Megan Holloway, who is also studying nursing at the University, said:

“There are lots of interactive things in here which I haven’t had experience of before such as the simulation doll, which makes it much more realistic, you don’t have to rely on the lecturer to tell you what’s going on and you can feel it more for yourself. It’s experiences like this that really make the transition to practice easier.”   

Our chair Mandy Thorn MBE said:

“We are delighted to see that the Centre has got off to such a tremendous start. It is not only equipping a new generation of health and care professionals with the highest standards of training and skills now, but will create a legacy which will benefit this region for years to come.  

“It will help retain more young talent in this region by giving them the skills and experience they need to meet their own career ambitions and, in doing so, create more high-value jobs and opportunities.”     

The new facilities include a room for paramedic science and other disciplines, a mock house, various teaching spaces and new student social spaces.  A new Anatomage Room has also been created, following on from the success of similar innovations at the University’s Wolverhampton and Walsall Campus. This features a state-of-the-art Anatomage table that allows students to digitally ‘see’ inside the human body.  

The Marches Centre of Excellence provides provisions for a range of health and social care based courses including Adult Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Paramedic Science, Social Work, Social Care and Emergency Planning.  

For information about courses, visit: www.wlv.ac.uk or find out more about Open Days: www.wlv.ac.uk/opendays  

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The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has now ceased trading and transferred all its functions to Shropshire Council working with Telford & Wrekin Council and Herefordshire Council, in line with the UK Government's plans for devolution.

The Marches LEP was established in 2011 and hands over an impressive legacy from its 13-year life. In that time the LEP invested over £196m in projects across the Marches, securing in excess of £100m of match funding and supported more than 66,000 business interactions.

The schemes supported have made tangible differences to local communities, increasing skills, creating jobs and improving the physical appearance of many towns.

We would like to thank all the LEP Board Members who have given their time freely over the life of the LEP, as well as all the staff who worked for the LEP over the years. We also want to thank our delivery partners, local education providers and local, regional and national stakeholders who helped us achieve so much.

The Marches Growth Hub will continue to support businesses and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Each of the three Local Authorities will also continue to provide direct business support locally. Details of this support will be available through the Marches Growth Hub website and from the Local Authorities directly. Website: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk | email: enquiries@marchesgrowthhub.co.uk.

The Marches Careers Hub will continue to be delivered and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Website: www.marchescareershub.co.uk | email: info@marchescareershub.co.uk

For any queries about Getting Building Fund (GBF), Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Marches Investment Fund (MIF) projects supported by the Marches LEP please contact: gary.spence@shropshire.gov.uk

For any finance queries please contact: michelle.hodgkiss@shropshire.gov.uk

The solvent liquidation of the Marches LEP is being managed by the Evelyn Partners Limited. For any matter related to this please contact: Camilla.Mulholland@evelyn.com

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