New training facility for influx of paramedic students

West Midlands Ambulance Service has taken over the first floor of Dudley College's campus in Brierley Hill after running out of space at its current facility in Baggeridge.

That is because the service will be taking on 265 student paramedics and 50 graduate paramedics over the coming year as part of a major recruitment drive.

And the Dudley Road centre may become a permanent home for the service's training when the lease runs out on the Baggeridge facility in June next year.

Training at the campus began this month, with the service expected to ramp up its operations there as more trainees are taken on. It will also be used for the continuous training of current employees and the 159 students recruited over the past year.

Kim Nurse, the ambulance trust's director of workforce and organisational development, said: "With the trust having such a major programme of training and development, ensuring we have the best education facilities available for our stuff is key.

"Securing the accommodation at Dudley College will assist us in improving the facilities for our staff to develop skills, which will have a direct impact on the care that we are able to provide to patients."

The college will be run as the service's training centre for 12 months on a temporary basis, but could then be taken on more permanently in June.

But the service is currently looking at other options. As a result, the costs involved in moving to the college are currently not available, as they are commercially sensitive pending the search for a possible new base.

Mrs Nurse added: "Longer term, we are looking at what the best options are for the trust. This may involve bringing a number of current education locations together on one site."

The Dudley College campus was chosen for its secure location for training vehicles, and for the space it provides.

Principal Lowell Williams said: "We're delighted the West Midlands Ambulance Service are operating from Dudley College's Brierley Hill Centre, and look forward to working with them to provide office accommodation to meet their business needs."

Training being offered there includes clinical work such as paediatrics and trauma, as well as lower-level work for new starters such as health and safety, the moving and lifting of patients, CPR and first aid, and how to use oxygen.

Driver training will also take place there.

The first 200 trainees are expected to start work by Christmas, with the rest following by next March.

Year on year the service has been receiving a four-and-a-half per cent increase in emergency calls, with the past year presenting an even higher increase.

The trust already has around 1,500 paramedics covering the region, which includes Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.