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New ‘mock hospital’ facility to help train healthcare professionals of the future

A new facility which will see healthcare students develop their skills in realistic settings such as mock hospital wards is to be built at Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Clifton Campus.

Outside the new building
The new building will form a focal point for the Clifton Campus

The 34,000 sq ft building will serve as the base for the university’s Institute of Health & Allied Professions, which offers a range of specialist courses such as Adult and Mental Health Nursing, Paramedic Science and Public Health.

One entire floor will be dedicated to simulated healthcare environments including hospital wards, consultation and counselling rooms, and even a flat for home and emergency care scenarios. The settings will also feature lifelike patient manikins to give students the experience of working with men, women and children with a variety of injuries.

Two additional floors will provide office and flexible teaching spaces, including removable seating in lecture theatres to allow for creative learning approaches such as role play.

Interior of the building
The interior will feature a variety of healthcare settings for practical experience

The centre will allow NTU to equip future healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills needed for modern healthcare.

Dr Anne Felton, head of the Institute of Health & Allied Professions, said: “Contemporary registered healthcare professionals are required to be dynamic and flexible. As well as providing compassionate care, they need to be able to think critically, make complex decisions and lead.

“Fostering these skills in the next generation of nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals requires universities to use a range of teaching and learning strategies which complement and enhance the time students spend in practice during their courses.

“The facilities in this cutting-edge new building will enable us to recreate a ward setting, or a persons’ home environment, so students can practice and apply the skills they are learning in a safe way and in a realistic context, as well as creating scenarios for students that may be rare in a real world situation.”

Executive Dean of the School of Social Sciences at NTU, Professor Sara Owen, added: “Simulations and virtual reality are providing huge opportunities in healthcare education and we are proud of the technological advances and facilities on offer in this building. They will enable us to make these creative and innovative approaches an integral part of our education and give our students the best possible experience.”

The scheme is being led by NTU’s capital projects group within the Estates Department and the delivery team includes external project managers, Edge, together with architects, Pick Everard, and Turner & Townsend, Atkins and Waterman Group, as well as the main contractor Henry Brothers. It is due for completion by January 2022.

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    About Nottingham Trent University

    Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.

    NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

    The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

    It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

    The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.

    A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 87% satisfaction score in the 2020 National Student Survey, above the sector average of 83%.

Published on 16 September 2020
  • Category: Clifton Campus transformation; Press office; School of Social Sciences