The EKCEPN are delighted to announce that the joint bid by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University for 100 funded places to establish a medical school has been successful.
This is incredibly exciting news as it will be the county’s first ever medical school, bringing together the existing centres of excellence in health and medical education provided by the two universities, and local healthcare organisations, to offer a new model of patient-focused medical education.
The NHS has particularly welcomed the design of the courses at the school, which involve trainee doctors working across all the sites in Kent and Medway and working in primary care (such as GP practices) from the very beginning of their training.
The new medical school will offer:
- a model that starts in the community and primary care with early clinical placements within Community Education Provider Networks (CEPNs) – covering GP surgeries, pharmacies, and local care centres – from year one
- annually over 100 undergraduate places in a centre for first-class medical education and research to support future workforce planning in the region
- collaborative teams that are embedded within local NHS providers and are committed to leading and transforming healthcare delivery
The medical school will also be an essential part of the solution for recruiting and retaining medical professionals for the region. We want people in Kent and Medway to seriously consider health and care as a career.
The bid received significant support from the region’s MPs, local councillors, NHS Trust chief executives and medical directors, as well as other health and education related organisations, all of whom expressed their backing for the bid. It was also supported by Brighton and Sussex Medical School, which will act as the ‘parent institution’.
