Coventry University offers flagship building for NHS training activities
Wednesday 01 April 2020
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Coventry University has reopened its Alison Gingell building to help the NHS to train staff to take up clinical roles in the fight against Covid-19 in Warwickshire.
The £59 million building, which houses the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS), will be opened for two days initially, from 2-3 April to train medical students to prepare them to undertake new clinical responsibilities with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT).
Coventry University is providing its staff - including cleaners, facilities managers, security, catering, and technicians - to help support the training activities. Some academic staff will also be on hand to offer support with the training sessions, which will be led by Clinical Education Fellows from Warwick Hospital.
The university has had to shut its Coventry campus buildings and move teaching and learning online but is offering to open the Alison Gingell building to other NHS partners if they need to use it for essential staff training purposes. The building is the only facility of its kind where students learn to care for a patient at every stage of their healthcare experience, from paramedics arriving at their house and their subsequent ambulance journey, to their stay in hospital, through to their discharge and rehabilitation at home.
It was officially opened in January 2018 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
We are delighted to support SWFT, one of our key practice partners, by reopening the Alison Gingell building for the training of staff who are taking up new clinical roles. We are providing access to our space, simulation equipment and teaching resources where needed. The large building will enable social distancing to be maintained, in line with the Government’s guidance. We are very keen to support SWFT in as many ways as possible. We work incredibly closely together to develop and prepare large numbers of health care students, many of whom have clinical placements within SWFT.
Professor John Latham CBE, Coventry University Vice-Chancellor
We are very proud of our final-year medical students stepping up to take on a new role on the wards, providing valuable assistance to the nursing and medical teams. Starting such a role during a pandemic is undoubtedly daunting, but their commitment to supporting the NHS at such an unpredictable time has been inspirational. We are incredibly grateful to the team at Coventry University for supporting their development, and we look forward to watching them flourish!
Dr. Hannah Webber, Clinical Education Fellow at Warwick Hospital
Coventry University has stepped forward to assist the NHS as well as local public health teams in their work to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Around 50 paramedic students who have previously worked with West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) on placements have joined up once again with ambulance staff at the service’s request to help bolster their numbers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The university has also donated vital personal protection equipment including goggles and gloves, to public health officials in Warwickshire to distribute to care workers.
