The provision of healthcare training is set for a boost in the South East of England as the first stage for the planning of a new medical school is completed.
The new school will be run by the University of Hertfordshire and will become the first facility of its kind in the county, with the first cohort of students expected in 2027.
Signalling the next step of the relationship, the university’s bid is being supported by St George’s, University of London as the two organisations look to build on their shared values and expand the healthcare workforce.
The new school will work in tandem with the university’s school of life sciences and school of health and social work, which specialise in everything from nursing and midwifery all the way to geography and environmental science.
“The University of Hertfordshire have impressed us with their vision and determination to create a new medical school to meet urgent local, regional, and national workforce needs,” said Professor Jenny Higham, the vice-chancellor at St George’s.
“We particularly commend the university’s commitment to widening access as a way of ensuring that the future workforce is more representative of the population it seeks to serve.”
The university’s bid is also being supported by a wide array of local NHS organisations, including:
- Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
- Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care Partnership
- Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
- Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
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