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'A fantastic opportunity' - Work to start on new Norfolk nursing school
Work is set to start soon on a new school of nursing in west Norfolk.
The £600,000 facility will be run at the College of West Anglia in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn.
Mick Ward Demolition is about to begin demolishing the print room at the college to make space for the nursing studies facility, which will be housed in a modular building
It will consist of three rooms; a clinical room mirroring a real-life clinical environment with a new-scale hospital ward, a high-tech simulation suite equipped with simulation mannequins to provide clinical experience in a teaching environment.
It is due to recruit its first intake of 20 students directly from the QEH workforce onto the new Level 5 Nursing Associate Programme in January 2022.
College principal David Pomfret said: "The School of Nursing Studies creates a fantastic opportunity for west Norfolk.
"The coronavirus has caused a massive global recession; however, health and social care is one of the very few sectors which is set to grow."
"The new facility and qualification will create local career and skills development opportunities.
"Nursing is an incredibly important and rewarding career. This project will mean that the very best of talent can stay local, improve the stability and quality of the QEH workforce and support the west Norfolk economy as well as the wellbeing of West Norfolk communities."
Dr April Brown, chief nurse at QEH said: “The development of a School of Nursing Studies is fantastic news for both our local community and QEH by opening career opportunities for those wishing to study nursing closer to home, in west Norfolk, and helping to provide stability for our future workforce needs.”
Staff shortages on some wards were highlighted by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when it placed the hospital in special measures in September 2018.
A recruitment campaign has since cut the number of vacant posts.
The first cohort of students are expected to join the three-year course in September.
The nursing school was funded by a grant from the government's town deal fund to improve training and employment opportunities for young people in and around King's Lynn.
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About College of West Anglia
Training more than 7,500 students each year, the College of West Anglia is one of the largest providers of education and training in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire with an exceptional track record of developing the skills and talents of our students. This...
