Medical school expansion aims to help solve the NHS staff shortages
The University of Sunderland is looking to expand its medical school and train more doctors, nurses and other medical professionals as part of £250million worth of investment over the next 10 years.
Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell hopes Sunderland can play a pivotal role in helping the NHS fulfil the aims of its ‘Long-term Workforce Plan’ to plug the current gaps in the medical profession both nationally and here in the North East.
According to the British Medical Association, in December 2023 there were 8,758 unfilled medical vacancies in the NHS in England which equates to 5.7% of the workforce.
Sir David said: "We would like to invest more in medicine and health to support the
NHS Long-term Workforce Plan to train and recruit more medical staff. Our first cohort of doctors are due to graduate this year and we would like to triple the size of our medical school. We also want to train more nurses, physios, paramedics and the other healthcare professional careers we offer here at the university.
"The NHS plan highlights what the country needs.
We already make a major contribution here in the North East and we are ready to pick up the baton at our medical school and make an even greater contribution."
However Sir David has been left frustrated with the current quota of places for trainee doctors set by the Government for 2025-26.
He said: "We would like to recruit 52 new trainee doctors for our medical school but we have been told there will only be 52 places available across the whole of the North East and Yorkshire.
"We are committed to growing our medical school and are frustrated by these numbers, particularly after