WELCOME TO UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER THE THREE COUNTIES MEDICAL SCHOOL “Our healthcare professional graduates already make “”a hugely beneficial impact on the health and wellbeing of our local communities. The opportunity to expand this further across the counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, through the creation of a new Medical School, will make a transformative contribution to the region’s health workforce.” Professor Sarah Greer Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost University of Worcester, and Chair Three Counties Medical School Project Three Counties Medical School 3 The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted an integrated community placement. We the importance of urgently addressing will fully utilise the untapped resource of Our existing shortages of doctors, GPs and other community hospitals as a training ground vital healthcare professionals nationally for students, working alongside professionals Vision and particularly in rural regions that are and students from other health disciplines. The creation of a new and distinctive significantly under-served, including those The programme will stand out for its medical school serving the three counties to be covered by the Three Counties Medical ambitious plan to embed interdisciplinary of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and School (TCMS). It has also underlined and problem-based learning in the Worcestershire is an exciting development a necessity to train doctors who are curriculum, and for the way it will marry both for the University of Worcester and resourceful problem-solvers who are used to empathetic patient-focussed values with the local community and health sector. collaborating as part of a multi-professional the latest knowledge and professionalism Coinciding with unprecedented challenges team and are therefore capable of responding of the modern-day health service. now facing the NHS that threaten the health to rapidly changing situations. This perfectly Responding to national and regional health and wellbeing of the nation, it presents describes the kind of individual we expect demands requires a recruitment and training an exceptional and timely opportunity to to graduate from our new medical school. strategy designed to attract highly motivated answer pressing as well as long-standing Training the doctors and healthcare leaders and conscientious people from diverse needs for a fresh and more innovative and of the future means providing a programme backgrounds who represent the communities targeted approach to medical education. that is in tune with the drive towards more served by the medical profession. care in the community and patient-centred practice. Our postgraduate course will feature a unique third year, which will include “Creating the Three Counties Medical School to serve the “”people of this region and beyond is a major investment. There is a serious shortage of doctors in many rural areas as well as in the Acute Hospitals. The latest official workforce forecasts predict that the shortage of health personnel is going to balloon to 170,000 by 2027, which is just when doctors educated at the Three Counties Medical School should start coming on stream.” Professor David Green CBE Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive University of Worcester Three Counties Medical School 5 The TCMS is part of a new wave of medical on existing staff expertise, relationships Trusts and hospitals in the region, as well schools in the UK that are aiming to with Trusts and hospitals, professional as schools and other local stakeholders, to widen access to careers in medicine. The regulatory bodies and university facilities. help realise these objectives. It amounts to a University of Worcester, widely regarded It will also allow for the development collaborative venture from which the regional as one of Britain’s most inclusive higher of an integrated course experience and community, healthcare system, medical education institutions, is in an excellent community of practice - reflecting the profession, students, higher education position to take a lead in this movement. Its current emphasis on integrated care - as sector and the NHS all stand to gain. commitment to widening opportunities and trainee doctors, nurses and other health equality has been recognised in a string of professionals learn in a shared environment. national awards over the past four years. But the benefits of opening the TCMS extend The development of a medical school based far beyond the evolution of university at the heart of a new health and wellbeing healthcare teaching. In developing the campus is a logical next big step for the school, the University aspires in the long University, and is a key objective in its term to provide a practical solution to the current strategic plan. It grows organically significant difficulties in recruiting and out of established strengths and a solid and retaining doctors in the region. Research has long track record in delivering a wide range shown that focussing on recruitment of local FIND OUT MORE of high quality programmes in subjects allied students is likely to be an effective strategy. Our Vision For to nursing and health. The TCMS will build The TCMS will work in close partnership with The Three Counties Medical School film A third of the University’s students are currently studying courses allied to health. “I think we have the opportunity here, with the University of Why This year, it celebrates 25 years of delivering “”Worcester as it is, with its large strengths in health professional nursing and midwifery education and education, to do something a little different with our Worcester is now considered to be one of the best medical school: very much more integrated with the The University of Worcester is a thriving training centres in the country for these NHS and the people who currently work in the NHS.” university for the 21st Century, with one of professions. In 2014, Worcester became the best records in the country of sustained Professor John Cookson the first university in the UK to introduce graduate employment and a reputation a postgraduate MSc Physician Associate Professor of Medical Education for quality, equality and compassion. and Development Dean of (PA) course: a two-year intensive clinical the Three Counties Medical School The University was awarded the largest programme to train clinical practitioners allocation of additional health-related in the medical model to work alongside student places in the UK in 2020, putting it doctors, meeting the needs of a rapidly in a strong position to add to its substantial changing healthcare environment. The first and proven experience over the past two cohort of PA students graduated in 2016 decades in training high-quality, effective with a 100 per cent employment rate. This and compassionate health professionals innovative programme provided local Trusts in nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, with a much needed resource, successfully occupational therapy and paramedicine. reducing pressure on services and improving patient flow, while creating opportunities for a more diverse body of students. Three Counties Medical School 7 Shortlisted six times, including in 2020, Among the top 10 universities in the as Nurse Education Provider of the Year country for sustained employment A reputation in the Student Nursing Times Awards. of graduates, according to data published by the government. for quality Winner of the Guardian University Award Ranked in the top 3 in the UK for for Internationalisation in 2019, and Ranked among the top 10 universities Quality Education and Number 1 in shortlisted for the Widening Access and in the country which best reflect the UK for Gender Equality in the Outreach Awards in 2019 and 2020. society in a 2018 report from the Times Higher Education’s University Higher Education Policy Institute. Ranked among the top 10 universities Impact Rankings 2019 and 2020. in the UK for Student Experience Winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Three times finalist for University of and 16th for Teaching Quality in The the Local Community award (2019), winner the Year in the Times Higher Education Times Good University Guide 2021 of the Outstanding Contribution to annual awards, including in 2020. (published in September 2020). Equality, Diversity and Inclusion award (2020), and shortlisted for Widening Finalist for University of the Year in the Named Sustainability Institution of the Participation or Outreach Initiative of the 2019 and 2020 UK Social Mobility Awards. Year in the Green Gown Awards 2019. Year (2020) in the Times Higher Education Awards. TOP 3 FOR TOP 10 FOR TOP 10 FOR FINALIST FINALIST WINNER QUALITY STUDENT SUSTAINED UK Social EDUCATION 2020 EXPERIENCE EMPLOYMENT Mobility AwardssTM University of the Year 2020 2020 Sustainability Institution University of the Year of the Year All students studying on health-related planning in NHS England. The Royal College It is widely recognised that to attract GPs to courses benefit from the support of of Physicians has estimated that nationally a rural region like the Three Counties, which well-qualified and highly experienced staff an additional 2,840 medical students per has pockets of sparse populations, they have as well as first class facilities, soon to be year are needed for the next five years to to have either been born there, lived there, significantly enhanced with the addition create 2,270 more consultant physicians by or undertaken their training in the area. Yet of a new Three Counties Centre for Health 2030. The Three Counties fulfils the NHS there is currently no medical school within and Wellbeing. The University also has an criteria for needing more locally provided the Three Counties region and contiguous extensive network of placement providers solutions to this challenge. In Hereford and areas such as South Shropshire and part of and contacts across local NHS Trusts, Worcester, in all medical specialities, 14 per Wales. There are also relatively few medical GPs, other healthcare organisations, cent of training posts were unfilled in 2016, students in relation to the populations third sector and private providers.