Councillors granted planning permission for the Bolton College of Medical Sciences (BCMS) a vocational and professional skills and training facility at the Royal Bolton Hospital, Farnworth.
The Bolton College of Medical Sciences will provide state-of-the-art vocational, professional skills training facilities, located at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust Hospital. The new College will be a collaboration between Bolton College, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Bolton, and Bolton Council. It is expected to transform how NHS workforces are trained in the UK, alleviate healthcare staffing pressures in Greater Manchester, and provide improved levels of care to the local community.
BCMS is a collaborative project between the University of Bolton, Bolton College, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Bolton Council and is understood to be the first development of its kind in the UK. It will give people a direct route into health and social care employment, and provide unrivalled training opportunities for new and existing staff by focusing on practical skills-based learning in a live hospital environment.
The building contains clinical simulation suites including an Emergency Medicine simulation suite including ambulance unloading; high fidelity simulation suite – one/two bed set up with dedicated control room and de-brief space with full bed setting and medical gases; Operating theatre simulation suite – including operating plinth and pendant; Maternity / Delivery simulation suit and General (or ward based) clinical simulation suite.
A Digital Anatomy Suite will be provided and based around an anatomage digital anatomy table. Additionally a circular lecture theatre and clinical demonstration space, following historic models of the anatomy lecture theatres, is provided – this space creates a circular seating arrangement with central demonstration space and uses digital AV/IT to provide an immersive demonstration environment.
Additional facilities to enable clinical training and teaching include mock GP and consulting rooms, a VR learning room – four wall projections for immersive training scenarios and a mandatory clinical skills room – an open room with regularly used medical equipment set out for learners to drop in and practice under supervision.
Prof George E Holmes, president and vice chancellor of the University of Bolton, said: “This is game-changing news for Bolton.”
