Matt Warman MP visited the University of Lincoln last week to review progress on their bespoke new state-of-the-art medical school building. Planning permission for the £21 million project last month got the go-ahead from local councillors.
Lincolnshire has particular healthcare challenges with its rural geography and ageing population, and the new medical school is a major step forward for medical services across Lincolnshire. As evidence shows that trainee doctors are more likely to stay where they study, it will be a significant boost to recruitment and retention across the county, including for Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.
Commenting on the new facilities, Matt said,
“This September will see the first medical students training at the Lincolnshire Medical School. It is great news for our local NHS and I am thrilled with the progress that has been made on something I have campaigned for, alongside other Lincolnshire MPs and local healthcare professionals, since my election in 2015.
Following the announcement by the Government in 2017 of an additional 1,500 medical school training places across England to ease staffing shortages in the NHS, it was fantastic news that one of the new medical schools was assigned to Lincolnshire and I was delighted to be able to discuss training the next generation of healthcare professionals in Lincolnshire with the University Vice Chancellor, Mary Stuart, and Head of School of Health and Social Care at Lincoln University Nigel Horner.”
The new development will benefit Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital and beyond by offering 80 training placements starting in 2019. Construction work is progressing on one of the new buildings where the next generation of medical students will be trained. It will be the first of its kind in Lincolnshire with teaching at the school being delivered in partnership with the University of Nottingham.
Matt said,
“I have no doubt this will be a gamechanger for our local NHS and it will benefit my constituents in Boston and Skegness, and the wider population across Lincolnshire.”
Matt Warman MP with Head of School of Health and Social Care at Lincoln University Nigel Horner