UCLan School of Medicine celebrates GMC accreditation

4 March 2020

Following the completion of a rigorous quality assurance process lasting five years, the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) School of Medicine has been granted degree-awarding powers by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The landmark decision was confirmed by the GMC at its meeting on 27 February with UCLan’s School of Medicine being added to the GMC’s website listing of institutions approved to award a primary medical qualification.

The announcement marks an important milestone in the development of UCLan’s School of Medicine which opened in 2015 with a small cohort of full fee-paying international students. Since those early days the School has grown dramatically with now more than 1,000 UK and international students studying on a range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

In July 2020, the first 27 students from the Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme are hoping to graduate with all 27 planning to live and work in the UK.

The UCLan MBBS programme builds upon UCLan’s heritage in dentistry, nursing and pharmacy courses, representing a crucial part of the overall solution to fill the urgent skills gap that currently exists in areas such as East Lancashire and West Cumbria.

Commenting on the GMC endorsement Professor Cathy Jackson, Head of UCLan’s School of Medicine, said: “Receiving the seal of approval from the GMC for our MBBS programme is fantastic news. Colleagues in the School have worked incredibly hard to make this happen while the support we’ve received from partner organisations such as North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has been crucial.

“We have achieved something truly unique by developing the first brand new medical curriculum in many years where our students benefit from patient contact within the second week of the programme. Over 70 percent of our UK student doctors are from widening access backgrounds* and we have trained them not only to be knowledgeable, empathetic and reflective but to accurately represent the populations they will serve.

“We’ve gone from an intake of 35 students a year to 150, developed a comprehensive postgraduate portfolio, opened the very successful National Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine** and we’ve done it all in five years.”

UCLan’s Professor StJohn Crean, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), played a key role in the early development and launch of the MBBS programme. He added: “Gaining GMC approval is, quite appropriately, a rigorous and lengthy process but we are delighted that our medical programme has met these stringent requirements.

“Building on our expertise in educating a wide range of healthcare professionals, our MBBS programme will help to ensure our region can meet the workforce needs of the healthcare models of the future.”

UCLan is the largest provider of health and social care education in Lancashire and Cumbria and is one of only five universities in the country delivering medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, complemented by a wide-range of other health-related subjects such as nursing, midwifery and paramedic practice.

Professor Colin Melville, the General Medical Council’s Medical Director and Director of Education and Standards, said: “The GMC has high standards and a very rigorous process before a new medical school can be approved to award primary medical qualifications to its students. UCLan has worked hard, over a number of years, to meet our quality assurance standards.

“It is as a result of that hard work that it has now achieved this status, and so from this summer UCLan’s medical school graduates will be added to our register and be able to join the UK’s medical workforce.”

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Kevin McGee, Chief Executive for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Many, many congratulations to our partners at UCLan on receiving this accreditation to award the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) degree. This well-deserved accolade is the culmination of many years collaboration and hard work by both our organisations.

“As UCLan’s strategic partners in providing high quality medical undergraduate education and training, we firmly believe this latest achievement is excellent news for our two institutions, for the region’s medical workforce and, ultimately, for the health of our region’s population.

“Here at East Lancashire Hospitals, we currently support 139 UCLan medical students as they study and train for their MBBS degrees. We look forward to our partnership continuing, and even expanding, in the coming years on our journey to achieving University Teaching Hospital status.”

Professor John Howarth, Deputy Chief Executive at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is fantastic news that UCLan has been accredited to offer Primary Medical Qualifications within their medical school, I am delighted for the university and all those involved.

“This achievement really recognises all the hard work of the staff in the medical school and it is great that North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust are a part of this exciting journey too.”

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