The University of East Anglia has revealed plans for a new £5.7m training facility which it hopes will boost recruitment "into key NHS roles".
The high-tech 'Anatomy Suite' would be constructed as part of an extension to the Edith Cavell Building in Colney Lane, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and it is hoped to be operational by April 2025.
If approved, the site would increase capacity for teaching and provide space for additional courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and specialist training levels - all of which would be aimed at "supporting the recruitment of highly skilled health care professionals both regionally and nationally".
It comes as the existing Anatomy Suite - which has been located in the Queens Building in University Drive for more than 20 years - is no longer considered suitable for the university.
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“Our anatomy teaching facilities have been at the heart of our healthcare student training for two decades," said Charles ffrench-Constant, pro-vice-chancellor at the UEA Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
"And it’s now wonderful to be able to fully modernise this vital part of our buildings to increase the number of students we can train and provide them with state-of-the-art facilities.”
Funding for the new Anatomy Suite would come primarily from a successful grant application of £5.7m supported by the Office for Students - the independent regulator of higher education in England.
An additional contribution in the region of £800,000 would also come from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, matched by a similar amount from the university.
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Stephen Chapman, senior faculty manager at UEA Medicine and Health Sciences, said: "The new Anatomy will be a worldwide exemplar facility incorporating current best practices, and it will also increase our capacity in terms of the variety of courses we are able to offer.
"Meeting the targets of the NHS Workforce Plan requires major increases in student numbers for courses that require experience with the Anatomy Suite, and this development ensures that we can meet that demand, benefitting the population of our region.”
It is understood the facility would serve healthcare professionals on courses including nursing, physiotherapy and paramedic science.
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