New courses to expand University of East London nursing provision
The University of East London (UEL) is to offer new courses in mental health nursing and children’s nursing at its expanded Health Campus in Stratford. The new courses, due to start in 2025, are in response to last year’s NHS Workforce Plan, which called for an extra 170,000 nurses by the year 2037.
New facilities are also being added to UEL’s pioneering £10m Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub, with the building of a children’s ward and an operating theatre suite. The hub is a showcase for the university’s commitment to innovating educational technologies and interprofessional practice and tackling health inequalities in a tech-driven world.
Offering virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and responsive mannequins, simulation technology in the hub creates realistic scenarios to boost students’ confidence in simulated intensive care units, A&E and general wards.
Students on the new courses will be able to rehearse specific mental health scenarios such as treating children or patients with mental health disorders on VR and AR headsets to practice their clinical skills. Virtual placements are also available with the technology.
Teresa Mcmahon, head of department for Nursing and Midwifery at UEL, said, “This is an exciting opportunity to enhance and enrich the student experience as we expand our offering. The new facilities will mean graduates are career-ready and able to answer the NHS workforce needs as there’s a shortage of these skilled workers, both in the local community as well as nationally.”
The 2023 NHS workforce plan acknowledged that staff shortages were one of the main factors preventing the health service from providing adequate mental health provision in many areas. While the number of people employed in mental health services increased from 2016-17 to 2021-22 by 22% overall, the provision of some categories of staff, including doctors and nurses, was deemed inadequate.
To make the problem more acute, referrals to mental health services in the same period increased by 44 per cent. This follows a sharp rise in the number of people with mental health needs. For example, the number of 17 to 19-year-olds with a likely mental health disorder more than doubled from 10% in 2017 to 26% in 2022.
The expanded Training Hub will be a key part of UEL’s Health Campus, plans for which were approved by Newham Council in February.
Rob Waterson, dean of the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience, added: “The Health Campus is a major development towards the university’s goal of establishing the UK’s first University Community Health Centre. Working alongside and partnering with university hospitals, care homes, and schools in London and beyond, the development will contribute to the holistic wellbeing of the community.
“The Health Campus will help address NHS staff shortages, becoming a centre of learning and advanced research, and a hub for community health, preventive care, and overall wellbeing to tackle the health inequalities which persist in our surrounding boroughs.”
The development will also include a 16-storey residential building, offering 650 student bedrooms, a wellness centre, a staff and student nursery, and green social spaces available to everyone. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024.
