The Health and Social Care Secretary was welcomed by Professor Peter John CBE, Vice-Chancellor of UWL, and Dr Charmagne Barnes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Dean of CNMH, who gave him a tour of the high-tech training facilities at the College to discover how CNMH is using inventive technology and practical experience to train the nation’s next generation of healthcare professionals. Ed Hughes, CEO of the Council of Deans of Health (CODH) also attended to welcome Mr Barclay. The CODH, which represents the UK’s university faculties engaged in education and/or research for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions, played a key role in facilitating and coordinating the visit to UWL.

UWL’s Simulation Centre uses a range of technology to replicate real-life healthcare scenarios in order that students can learn vital skills safely in environments that mimic hospital and clinical settings, eg theatre, critical care, A&E, midwifery, ward-based and community environments.

Prior to the tour of the facilities, the Health and Social Care Secretary met with Professor John CBE, Dr Barnes and Mr Hughes for a high-level discussion following the recent publication of the NHS Long Term Work Force Plan.

First, joining MSc students in the Immersive Room, the Health and Social Care Secretary observed them taking part in a cardiac arrest simulation before then participating in a simulated patient journey from a road traffic collision into a hospital setting.

He then witnessed a midwifery Virtual Reality (VR) experience with four UWL midwifery students discussing how the data and analytics from the VR system could help develop safe and effective care.

In the final part of his tour, the Health and Social Care Secretary was given a demonstration of the ‘Simbulance,’ a fully equipped, functioning interior of a 'front-line' London ambulance. The scenario involved a paediatric mannequin – 7-year-old Aria – being taken via ambulance to A&E following a fall.

Professor Peter John CBE, UWL Vice-Chancellor, said:

I was delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to the University of West London. We were able to have top level discussions on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and, importantly, introduce him to academic staff and students using our cutting edge simulated learning suite which he clearly enjoyed. The Council of Deans of Health has been pivotal to feeding in the views of members, like us at University of West London, into the plan and I look forward to continuing our work with them and Mr Barclay to deliver its implementation."

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay remarked:

As we celebrate the achievements of the NHS over the last 75 years and look ahead to the future, I was delighted to see the next generation of health workers being trained using the latest technology and innovations.

The high-tech training delivered at the University of West London and the Council of Deans of Health will help deliver the best care for patients for many years to come.

Using AI embedded virtual reality headsets and real-life ambulance simulations are fantastic examples of ways we can better equip the workforce for the challenges they face while on duty.

The NHS has published the first ever Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion government funding to deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history alongside measures to improve culture, leadership, and wellbeing so fewer staff leave the NHS over the next 15 years."

Ed Hughes, CEO of the Council of Deans, commented:

The Council of Deans of Health has worked closely on the development of the NHS Long Term Workforce plan. We were therefore privileged to coordinate a visit of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to the University of West London to see the vital work they do educating the next generation of healthcare professionals and mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

We had some crucial conversations on the challenges and opportunities for health education and training, and the Secretary of State was able to explore UWL’s simulation and virtual reality facilities, meet staff and talk to students. I look forward to the next steps we have agreed to take together in delivering the plan."

UWL’s College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare is a major provider of nursing, midwifery and paramedic science courses in West London and Berkshire in close collaboration with our NHS partners. The College’s general nursing courses are ranked as the best in London in the Guardian University Guide 2024. The College was recently ranked Number 2 for Nursing amongst modern* London universities in the 2024 Complete University Guide.

• Find out more about the full range of our courses in Nursing, Midwifery, Healthcare at UWL.

^{*Modern universities are defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.}