PLAN TO TRAIN MORE DOCTORS WINS GOVERNMENT FUNDING

A joint bid to expand the number of doctors trained in West Yorkshire has received Government backing, bringing an extra 40 medical student places to the region.

The School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford, and NHS organisations across Bradford, Airedale and Leeds championed the bid. The aim of the partnership is to widen participation for students entering medical education from non-traditional backgrounds, as well as overcoming the growing shortage of medical staff in Yorkshire - where hospital vacancy rates are now the highest outside London.

The organisations involved are delighted that the collaboration has received the £1.7m funding plus additional costs for individual student places. It will allow 40 students to come through the University for the first time, and receive training in partnership with the University of Leeds' School of Medicine. The new development offers particular benefits for minority ethnic students, especially women, as it will enable them to study in Bradford while living at home - the preferred option for many Asian families. It will also support teaching status for the local NHS in Bradford.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Bell, said: "The success of this bid will provide more doctors for West Yorkshire, particularly General Practitioners for the inner cities where there is a shortage. It will also build on the experience of the University of Bradford's School of Health Studies, where, through an active outreach programme with local schools and colleges, recruitment has significantly improved in nursing from ethnic minorities.

"This will provide a better distribution of medical education across all parts of the country, with major knock-on benefits for medical care." Professor Alan Wilson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: "The success of the bid will allow us to provide modernised teaching facilities in both universities and Bradford hospitals and will form an integral part of the proposed hospital development at Bradford Royal Infirmary."

Mr David Jackson, Chief Executive of the Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "This funding will provide a big boost to the region. It is great to see universities and the health service working together to provide the quality of medical care for which we are all striving. Students of medicine, nursing and other professions will learn together, creating the teams which will be essential in the day-to-day care of patients." Universities were invited in September 2000 to bid for extra medical student places. The increase will be implemented as quickly as possible.

The places were awarded by a joint Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)/Department of Health (DH) implementation group, co-chaired by Sir Brian Fender, Chief Executive of the HEFCE and Professor Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer.

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