Our new Clinic Building
Our School of Health and Society delivers many diverse programmes and, alongside the need to deliver high quality, accessible and interactive learning, teaching, assessment and research, there is a requirement for more healthcare professionals to support the NHS.
To coincide with the 75th anniversary of the NHS, a long-term workforce plan has been published, which notes the intention to significantly expand the education, training and recruitment of health care professionals.
We want to create a campus to enable us to meet these workforce needs, but also to deliver high quality learning, teaching, simulation and research, and to improve accessibility. We need exceptional teaching and research facilities to enhance the experiences, wellbeing and retention of our colleagues and our students.
We also have the opportunity to expand our in-house clinics to offer healthcare students the opportunity to get real-world experience in their chosen career, right here on campus, and reduce the demand for placements on our external partners.
Students and colleagues from non-healthcare related programmes will also benefit greatly from the new campus, with learning taking place in facilities that are digitally enabled, with wellbeing and sustainability at their heart, offering social and interactive spaces to enhance collaboration and personalised learning.
Social value is at the heart of all we do. We are committed to partnership working and we will play a key role in tackling health and social inequalities by providing public services, on site, with our partners – reducing waiting lists and increasing accessibility of community services.
There will be a phased approach to the development, with strategic focus on the wider Campus Masterplan development to ultimately create a cohesive campus between Frederick Road and Peel Park.
Our first area of focus is the new clinic building. This will incorporate specialist spaces for Podiatry, Prosthetic and Orthotics and Sports Rehabilitation, as well as a Gait Lab on the ground floor.
We have gathered lots of ideas and input about how we can make best use of this new building and wider development. We’ve spoken to over 100 colleagues including our Directors, Heads of Subjects, technicians and professional services and have also used feedback from other development projects across the University, as well as an Advisory Board with professoriate and industry partners.
Our new clinic building will be designed to NHS standard and HTM compliance, with shared spaces available for research and future partnerships, such as an Inclusion Health hub.
The entire space will have a modern public facing offer, with a café space, accessible roof, lots of green spaces and terraces to promote wellbeing for all. Throughout the design, consideration has been given to incorporating social prescription, equity of access, neurodiverse needs and trauma-informed design.
This is an ambitious project that will enable greater innovation, enhanced student experience and prepare us for the future.