£4.8m lab to be built at University of Wolverhampton's Walsall campus

Work has now started on extending and totally remodelling existing facilities in the Sister Dora Building, which is home to part of the University’s Institute of Health.

And new digital artist impressions have been released showing what the new lab could look like.

The development will see a two-storey extension added, creating new simulation labs and teaching rooms to cater for an increase in students on courses such as nursing, midwifery and paramedic science.

The building will be remodelled throughout with a series of multi-disciplinary lab spaces created for a range of settings and a collaboration area.

The skills and simulation facilities will include several mock hospital ward rooms, mock bedsit and terraced house to practice in as well as using the latest technology with access to an anatomage table.

The facilities will enable students to practice skills in a safe environment with a fully enabled Panopto facility- which allows sessions to be filmed and played back and give a patient’s eye-view.

A selection of new, flexible teaching spaces will also be formed and the lobby refurbished.

The £4.8m project was designed by architects Broadway Malyan and Speller Metcalfe has been appointed as the main build contractor with Gleeds as project managers.

Work has started and the transformation of the current building is set to be complete in time for the new academic year in September 2019 with the new extension delivered by November 2019.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, Professor Geoff Layer, said: “As a university we are seeking to invest in areas where we believe we can grow and where we know there is a skills gap.

“In the UK right now there is certainly a shortage of trained nurses and other healthcare workers.

“We are working closely with hospital trusts in our area to identify their needs and we want to recruit and train even more nurses, midwives, paramedics and physios to work in our communities.

“We believe this investment will further support that aim by providing great facilities for people to learn in.

Professor Alex Hopkins, dean of the faculty of education, health and wellbeing, said: “This will make a huge difference to the clinical settings we are able to provide to our students to train within.

“Our courses are all professionally accredited and we work closely with healthcare providers to provide our students with the right tools and the right environment for a career in the sector.”