Wiltshire College & University Centre has launched a £500,000 new development focused on healthcare training at its Salisbury campus.
The Healthcare Zone project includes a variety of innovative facilities and technologies, and will enhance training provision in the region. It comes following the award of £388,000 to WCUC from the Department of Education last year as part the fifth wave of T Level Capital Funding.
The Healthcare Zone is the latest in a series of major redevelopment works at the Salisbury campus in recent years, and has seen the refurbishment of disused labs and classrooms into a suite of modern facilities, including a mock ambulance training facility, a hospital training ward containing interactive manikins, a mock observation room and a simulated care environment.
The Healthcare Zone has been designed in collaboration with Salisbury District Hospital to provide students with relevant knowledge and skills ahead of prospective work placement opportunities. The training ward equipment and layout mirrors that found within wards at the hospital, as does branding and signage around the Healthcare Zone.
These new facilities will support the delivery of courses including the Health: Adult Nursing T Level and the Nursing Associate Foundation Degree, run in partnership with Coventry University.
Salisbury and South Wiltshire MP John Glen was invited to view the final stages of the development before the facilities open to students this term.
Iain Hatt, Principal and CEO at WCUC, said: “We are thrilled to see the Healthcare Zone at our Salisbury campus come to life with the completion of multiple innovative new facilities. Thanks to support from T Level Capital Funding, students on our healthcare programmes will have access to a range of realistic working environments, giving them the best possible start on their career path.
“As a college, we know the importance of working to address some of the skills gaps in the city and the surrounding region. Courses like our Health and Science T Level and Nursing Associate Foundation Degree will help to support the development of the future workforce in the healthcare sector which is so important to our communities.”
John Glen MP added: “I was delighted to see the hugely impressive new Healthcare Zone at Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Salisbury campus, which will take health training in Salisbury to a completely new level. The realistic facilities are a superb resource for the next generation of health workers and offer young people a seamless route into nursing careers.”
The Healthcare Zone is the latest in a series of major redevelopment projects at the Salisbury campus, which has seen more than £22million invested at the site in recent years. A new three-storey campus building featuring an array of modern facilities opened in 2021, the exterior refurbishment of the remaining existing buildings was completed in 2023, and an extensive project to upgrade all internal facilities and services finished this summer.
