Professor David M A Green Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Telephone: 01905 855123 e-mail:
[email protected] Dear friend, Meeting to discuss a potential new Medical School Wednesday January 18th at 5:45pm Charles Hastings Building, University of Worcester City Campus, Infirmary Walk, Worcester, WR1 3AL I am writing to invite you to an exploratory, consultative meeting to discuss the potential and desirability of creating a new Medical School, based at the University of Worcester, and serving a wider region*. As you will know, this autumn, HM Secretary of State for Health announced the intention to create an additional 1500 places annually for the education and training of medical doctors from 2018 onwards. Following this announcement, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) wrote to me, to ask whether the University of Worcester had aspirations to deliver any of these places. After careful consideration by the University’s executive leadership and Board of Governors the University has informed HEFCE that we do wish to commit to creating a Medical School. This is a considerable undertaking, which will take a minimum of 3 years together with a great deal of hard work and expertise. Central to a successful application, will be the commitment and involvement of clinicians and partner institutions, as well as the capacity of the University and its staff. As the General Medical Council makes clear, a successful application by an Institution begins with an assessment of “the viability of its proposals, the expertise of its staff and its ability to provide adequate clinical experience for students.” This meeting is the first in a series of exploratory discussions with partners and interested individuals prior to the University submitting an application and has been particularly designed to help establish the appetite amongst the medical profession in this region for such a development.