Futuristic education facility opens for Swindon's healthcare students
The site will teach pupils through virtual reality
A major new education facility, which will train healthcare students from across our region, has officially opened.
The Swindon and Wiltshire Innovative Technology Care Hub (SWITCH) is now serving the next generation of healthcare workers at New College Swindon.
The site features various pieces of high-tech kit, allowing pupils to hone the skills they will need on the frontline.
One of the classrooms has three walls of virtual reality, using a 360-degree camera to show real-life settings which can be interacted with - such as a hospital ward or care home.
Other examples of immersive technology are also on offer. SWITCH has mannequins that appear to breathe, talk and cry - to replicate how patients behave.
New College Swindon hosted a launch event for SWITCH on Thursday 27 April, featuring a special tour for Greatest Hits Radio:
'We want to make a difference'
New figures show there will be around 3,000 vacancies in the UK's healthcare sector by 2025. It's thought the industry is also going to be providing around 7% of all new jobs across Wiltshire.
Bosses hope SWITCH's innovative training methods will effectively develop people who may be filling those roles.
David Panes, a Health and Social Care Lecturer at New College Swindon, has spoken to Greatest Hits Radio.
"We want to make a difference within the social care environment and industry locally. This facility should be upskilling care staff.
"We've got crisis (in the NHS), we all know that, we hear about it all the time. This education-wise will make a difference, so we can give carers those additional skills in a safe environment.
"That could be communication skills, showing compassion - through to physical things like catheterisation and taking bloods," he said.
According to David, SWITCH is a significant improvement from the facilities he could access as a student.
"When I went to university, yes we had basic mannequins. But I learnt how to inject a patient, as a nurse, into an orange!" he added.
New College Swindon has collaborated with Wiltshire College and University Centre for the project.
It means SWITCH will also be available at Wiltshire College, which has campuses in Trowbridge, Chippenham, Lackham and Salisbury.
Whilst pupils will have regular access to the Hubs, bosses have confirmed they will continue to learn through traditional teaching methods as well.