Bolton Council’s Planning committee has given the go ahead to the Bolton College of Medical Sciences. The state-of-the-art facility will comprise of a £30m investment to construct a mixed four-and-five storey, 81,000 sq ft healthcare college within the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital, Farnworth.
The opening of the facility is expected in 2022, two separate buildings are planned, one four-and-five storey building that will house the teaching and learning spaces, simulation suites, surgical and acute care environments, café, and staff and service spaces. The three-and-four storey car park is the second planned building at the site and will provide 406 spaces. The college will focus heavily on practical learning and utilising the latest medical technology.
The college is the first of its kind in the UK and is intended to advance the training practices used by the NHS and will ease staffing pressures faced by the Healthcare sector whilst providing an improved level of care. The scheme is an innovative project that will benefit the local community with improved healthcare provision and education and training opportunities within a sector facing an urgent need to fill a skills gap that is straining the vital services provided by the NHS.
Under the direction of Bolton College, the University of Bolton, the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, and Bolton Council. The new development will form part of Bolton Council’s plan to transform Farnworth town centre under the “Bolton 2030” masterplan which aims to improve the health and wellbeing and economic prosperity of the local community.
The college is expected to take on its initial cohort of students is 2022 and once opened it will be capable of teaching 3,000 students yearly, including providing roughly 1,000 apprenticeships in a wide range of health and social care roles. Bolton College of Medical Sciences will create and expected 25,000 jobs during its first 20 years.
Robbie Blackhurst, Procure Partnerships Framework Director, commented on the project: “The NHS is the UK’s largest employer, this type of project that offers another route into the organisation. Meeting the demands of cutting the skills gap and focusing on the latest medical technologies shows the forward-thinking strategy of the organisations partnering on the project and Procure Partnerships Framework is happy to be working on this scheme which will bring tangible benefits to the community. The training of new staff and upskilling of existing staff is key to the NHS delivering a supportive healthcare service for years to come.”
Faye Dolan, an esteemed professional and Framework Director at Procure Partnerships, boasts a rich and diverse career spanning seven years in the construction industry. Faye’s journey within Procure Partnerships began in 2018 as a Key Account Manager, initially overseeing the North West region and later extending her purview to the entire North.
