New Medical School recruiting at Worcester Uni
It's set to open next September
The General Medical Council has given the go ahead to recruit the first medical students to study at the Three Counties Medical School at the University of Worcester.
Applications for the graduate entry medical school will open next month for entry in September 2022.
The new medical school will make a major contribution to tackling the shortage of medical doctors in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and beyond.
Announcing the news, Professor David Green CBE DL, the University of Worcester’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, said:
“We have been working to create the foundations for a medical school to serve the region for over four years now.
“The General Medical Council quite rightly scrutinise the training of medical doctors with laser precision. We are delighted that we have passed their tests and may now proceed to select and admit the first cohort of students.
"We will do our very best to ensure that very well educated, high quality doctors graduate in sufficient numbers over the years ahead to turn the shortages of medical staff in the region into history.”
The University of Worcester has just been shortlisted for a record 7th time in England as Pre-Registration Nurse Education Provider of the Year.
Last year Worcester received the largest allocation of additional places for health professional students in the UK. Worcester is now educating an additional 478 nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
Simon Trickett, Chief Executive of the Integrated Care System and Chief Executive of Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG, representing local NHS organisations, said:
“This is fantastic news and a huge development for our local health and care system. The University already play a key role in helping local NHS organisations to be able to attract the range of skilled and qualified health and care professionals that we need to deliver local services.”
“The Medical School is a very important addition to that work and it is a development that we have supported right from the beginning because it was clear what a huge contribution it could make towards helping us to further improve the recruitment of doctors right across our services.”
Sarah Dugan, Chief Executive of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said:
“I am delighted that we have reached this important milestone in the creation of a local medical school. We have some excellent clinicians in our local NHS and we all very much look forward to helping to train an even stronger cohort of future doctors within Herefordshire.”
Robin Walker, the MP for Worcester said:
“I am immensely proud that we will soon be able to welcome Medicine students to Worcester where they will receive the highest quality training to become the doctors of the future. This facility will bolster healthcare provision in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, and indeed the whole country."
Mr. Walker is now leading a campaign, which is strongly supported by local MPs, for funded places to enable UK students to study at the Three Counties Medical School as soon as possible.