Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP), the Preston-based multi-disciplinary construction firm, has handed over a successfully completed health education centre to the NHS today.
The new, innovative and inspirational educational facility opens at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital on Thursday April 27 to benefit people across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
The LIFE (Learning Inspirations for Future Employment) Centre is available to other hospital and community healthcare centres across the region to inspire, educate and support a wide range of students from the age of five upwards to promote a career in healthcare with the NHS.
FWP was responsible for all the disciplines needed to deliver this flagship project including architecture and interior design; project management; quantity surveyor and structural and M&E engineering.
Working with the main contractor City Build Manchester, FWP has designed and managed the conversion of the old Belmont ward at Chorley hospital into a state of the art NHS simulation educational facility.
Martin Whittle, managing partner at FWP, said: “We have comprehensively remodelled and refurbished the existing Belmont Ward to provide a new simulation hospital.
“The building works included significant demolition and alteration to the existing layout, the installation of new partition walls along with new wall, floor and ceiling finishes to a very high standard, with bespoke imagery along with feature wallpaper all with a health related theme.
“We’ve created a new heating and cooling system, coloured lighting and mock medical gas / nurse call installations to fit in with the simulation theme.
“The mock clinical areas created include a ward area, triage room, treatment bays, resus area and an X-ray / ultrasound room which, combined with the multi-purpose room and the state of the art virtual reality room complete with bleacher seating, has helped to create a bespoke NHS educational facility.”
The development of this facility has only been possible with funding support from Health Education England and the Cumbria and Lancashire Local Workforce Action Board.
Jackie Higham, Widening Participation Manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has led on the development of this facility and ensured that it was built to maximise the space and learning opportunities for students and young people.
Jackie said: “The aim of this widening participation facility is to highlight the importance of careers in the health sector, and inspire students to undertake a career within the NHS.
“I am thrilled that all of the hard work and development of the LIFE Centre has paid off.
“It is an absolutely brilliant facility which is going to make a huge difference to our community and provide young people with an opportunity to learn in a real life setting, which will really help to promote both clinical and non-clinical NHS careers.
“The centre will include involvement of local charities that will be helping us to develop our outdoor garden space, as well as local drama students and make-up artists to create real life scenarios for our students to experience.
“We will also be working with a lot of disadvantaged students to ensure that they are provided with the same opportunities from our services.”
