Wiltshire College & University Centre is to create an innovative healthcare zone at its Salisbury campus as part of an exciting £500,000 project to enhance training provision in the sector for young people.
The development work comes following the award of £388,000 to WCUC from the Department of Education to support the project as part the fifth wave of T Level Capital Funding. The remaining funds will be funded by WCUC.
The healthcare zone is the latest in a series of major redevelopment works at the Salisbury campus and will see the refurbishment of disused labs and classrooms into a suite of modern facilities. New resources will include a healthcare training ward, a mock ambulance training facility, a single-bed observation room, a simulated home care environment and an associated teaching room. The new facilities will support the delivery of the T Level in Health and Science programme, which is new at the campus for the 2023-24 academic year.
Iain Hatt, Principal and CEO at Wiltshire College & University Centre, said: “We are excited to continue the development of our Salisbury campus with the creation of these dynamic new healthcare facilities. We strive to deliver a realistic learning environment and the best possible experience for all of our students across our campuses. These new facilities will give students on our health programmes in Salisbury 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 will help to support the development of the future workforce in the health sector which is so important to our communities.”
Work on the healthcare project is already under way with a planned completion date of Easter 2024, allowing students to be able to make use of the new facilities by the end of the academic year.
The healthcare ward will have separate curtained cubicles and has been designed in collaboration with Salisbury District Hospital to provide students with relevant knowledge and skills ahead of prospective work placement opportunities. The mock ambulance will be fitted out internally as per emergency vehicle specifications and contain cameras to allow training sessions and assessments to be monitored from outside the ambulance.
The healthcare project is the latest in a series of major redevelopment works 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 was opened in 2021 and work to complete the re-cladding of all existing buildings is due to finish by October 2023.
Enrolment for all students studying a post-16 full-time course at any WCUC campus in 2023-24 takes place on Thursday 24th August and Friday 25th August. Students should attend their individual invited session. Students who haven’t yet applied for September are also welcome to attend enrolment days to apply to start a course in the new term. All students should bring their GCSE and any other qualification results with them to confirm their place on their course.
