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Nursing staff and students training on a simulated ward, Kingston University
ÌðÐÄÊÓƵ powering the NHS
Our position paper and case studies on how universities will be central to educating the NHS healthcare workforce of the future.
ÌðÐÄÊÓƵ asked for the . They helped shape it, welcomed it and will be central to its delivery.
ÌðÐÄÊÓƵ fully recognise the challenges involved in such a radical expansion and transformation of health education system capacity.Â
Success will depend on cross-party commitment to support and fund the plan across the next 15 years, which includes general elections and spending reviews.
Our recommendations
For universities and the NHS to work together successfully, five system conditions need to be addressed:
- a strategic shift within higher education to dramatically expand health education capacity
- a culture shift within the NHS to value and support learners and educators and improve the working environment
- implementation must be co-produced to an agreed roadmap
- funding must be sustained across the plan’s 15-year horizon
- regulation must be aligned, outcomes-based and adaptive
There are also five threshold conditions that need urgent attention:
- student recruitment including widening participation
- the educator and clinical academic pipeline
- capital investment to boost system capacity
- extending and diversifying placements and practice-learning
- health student and early career attrition
Case studies
Professor Ardhendu Behera and 'Robbie the Robot', Edge Hill University
Virteasy V2 Dental Simulator, Newcastle University
Virtual ward, University of Leeds
Medical virtual dissection tables, University of Central Lancashire
Anglia Ruskin University
During the pandemic, Anglia Ruskin University created Hilda’s Home, the UK’s first simulated placement worth course credits.
Students visited 85-year-old Hilda in her home through virtual reality, developing their skills safely and enabling student nurses to continue in their careers.
Bournemouth University
A Â is helping junior doctors prepare for the pressures of working on a hospital ward.
The game features different conditions including meningitis, and trainees must care for multiple patients throughout their shift.
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
Investment in facilities at UCLan has seen the university introduce .
The life-size 3D devices contains real patient CT scans and cadaveric images and allow students to investigate the body by virtually dissecting it.
City, University of London
AI is beginning to play a key role in the way medical imaging can help make more accurate and timely diagnoses of health problems.
 led the uni to become the first in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region to offer an AI module to its radiography programme.
Edge Hill University
At Edge Hill University, Professor Ardhendu Behera is leading research on how AI may help early diagnosis of dementia.
– studying the facial expressions and body language of Ashley, a character with the condition.
University of Gloucestershire
The provided a drop-in facility for people with health concerns.
Nursing students provided preventative care advice, diagnosed symptoms and identified a number of conditions that required referrals, including a suspected cancer case.
Kingston University
10% of those in the intensive care community are neurodivergent or have a disability, yet only 30% have reasonable adjustments. Kingston University have prioritised inclusivity in admissions and teaching of their critical care course, recruiting many more neurodivergent students.
The university also provides . The suites include a mock hospital ward, pharmacy dispensing suite and GP surgery.
University of Leeds
together in a real-world environment.
Virtual clinical placements personalise learning and reduce the time required for training, while maintaining the highest professional standards.
University of Liverpool
who blinks, breathes, has a pulse and even talks, created by the University of Liverpool.
He provides undergraduate students with the invaluable opportunity to practice different medical procedures in a realistic but safe environment.
Newcastle University
, bringing lifelike simulation of clinical scenarios, such as real-time feedback of cutting through dental tissues and replicating dental implant placement.
The simulators are part of Newcastle's new £5.5 million dental skills facilities, opening in 2024.
University of Northampton
 that provides students with hands on opportunities to develop their midwifery skills.
Maya provides a realistic birthing experience for students to gain supervised practice and allows students to visualise a birth using augmented reality.
Open University
Kent Community Health Foundation Trust are overcoming nurse shortages through , making Nurse Associate education more accessible to the local community.
The apprenticeships enable the trust to recruit from a much more diverse talent pool, opening doors for people who don’t have formal qualifications or those with financial and caring responsibilities.
Queen Mary University of London
provide highly realistic virtual reality, allowing students to practice dental preparations using a real dental handpiece with realistic force feedback.
Students develop skills and confidence more rapidly and transfer safely to patients sooner.