New Clinical Skills Hub opens at Southport College following £2.3M investment

The brand new Clinical Skills Hub at Southport College is now open, creating a stunning new learning environment for students.

The state-of-the-art mock hospital wards have been created thanks to £2.3 million funding from the Department for Education’s T-Level Capital Project.

The official opening was carried out by Southport MP Patrick Hurley alongside Principal Michelle Brabner and Vice Principal Stephen Musa.

The project has been supported through guidance of Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

At the opening, Amy Liptrott (Resuscitation Officer); Rachelle Alty (Head of Professional Practice Development for Nursing and Midwifery); and Gill Bjork (Practice Education Facilitator) were delighted to tour the new facility and speak with students about what they could expect, giving a class while they were there.

The wards will also be used by MWL NHS Trust for their training purposes.

This exciting development has created two spacious mock hospital wards boasting industry-standard equipment and dedicated classroom space to support students with their educational development and professional confidence. By replicating real-life patient wards, students studying Health and Social Care can practise essential care skills in a realistic setting within the familiarity of the College, promoting a smooth transition into the world of work.

The new Clinical Skills Hub has officially opened at Southport College. — Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport

Principal Michelle Brabner said:

“It’s a fantastic faculty for our students.

“The funding has been secured through £2.3 million TFE funding, which is also supporting our development work in the Pennington Building.

“It is an astonishing amount of investment which will make a huge difference to our students’ education.

“The Clinical Skills Hub is a superb learning environment.

“It is excellent for our teaching staff too to be able to lead our students somewhere like this.

“The mannequins alone have been a huge investment. One of them, ‘Juno’, connects to an iPad and allows people to interact with them in order to understand their health conditions.

“It is a real game changer for our students.

“They can learn through being interactive with a mannequin before they come into contact with real life patients.

“Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Teaching Hospitals Trust has been really supportive and we were delighted to welcome them to our official opening.

“They have been working closely with us, sharing their insights and letting us know what our students need. They’ve been very impressed with our new wards!

“I’d like to thank Patrick Hurley and our fantastic employer partners Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for coming along to celebrate the opening and having such meaningful conversations with our T-Level Health and Social Care students.

“Our T Level courses include extended placements with local hospitals and healthcare facilities so our students have been enjoying working within the sector already.

“It gives them unique experience within a health setting, and also helps to inform them from an early stage about which specialisms they might want to go into in the future.

“The health care sector is so diverse. Getting the right opportunities and the right training early on is vital.”

Southport MP Patrick Hurley said:

“It was amazing to see the new Clinical Skills Hub up and running at Southport College on Wednesday morning.

“This shows the college’s commitment to the town, and the way in which they are working with Southport Hospital and others to ensure not only is our NHS fit for the future, but also that the next generation get the training they need to go into good, secure jobs.”

Carol Fowler, Deputy Director of Governance at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“We have been delighted to have supported this development and it’s a fantastic new facility that will benefit the college, the students and the Trust.

“After recently winning the T-Level Partner Employer of the Year Award, we are looking forward to continuing to grow our partnership with Southport College, and we are currently developing collaborative learning opportunities that will develop our valuable learners and staff within the Trust.’’

Each ward includes four hospital beds, privacy curtains, accessible water closets, and clean and dirty utility rooms where students can practise proper care and hygiene procedures, mimicking that of a real-life hospital.

Principal Michelle Brabner said:

“These brand new mock hospital wards are a fantastic addition to Southport College. It represents a tremendous opportunity to bridge the gap between theory and practise for our Health and Social Care students. By replicating real-world hospital settings, students can gain invaluable hands-on experience and develop the skills and confidence they need to thrive in their chosen careers.”

The DfE’s T-Level Capital Grant is a government initiative which supports academic institutions to deliver high quality T-Level qualifications by awarding grants to develop high-tech learning environments. With the creation of these advanced mock wards, our students will be able to experience a unique blend of classroom learning and practical skills, readying them for employment in their chosen field.

This is an exciting step for Southport College and is proof of our ongoing dedication to providing our students with well-rounded education experience comprising industry-leading teaching and practical experience to support their professional growth.