THE University of Bradford is “ready, willing and able” to open a new medical school in the city to help train the next generation of doctors.

The Department of Health is currently looking at how the country can train an extra 1,500 doctors each year, with one possible solution being to open new medical schools.

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The Telegraph & Argus can exclusively reveal that if this is the route the Government decides to follow, the University will step forward and seek permission to open a medical school.

As well as bringing a prestigious new facility to the city, a University-run medical school could help tackle Bradford’s GP shortage.

Despite the University having numerous health courses and departments, from an acclaimed nursing midwifery course to the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics, there is currently no place in Bradford where students can train to become doctors. Currently West Yorkshire has just one medical school, in Leeds.

The University’s medical school ambitions have won support from Bradford West MP Naz Shah and Bradford Council.

A Government consultation into how best to provide the extra 1,500 training spaces started last month and ends in June.

Announcing the consultation, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We have taken the decision to increase our supply of home-grown doctors by up to 1,500 places each year, in addition to the 6,000 places currently available in England.

“This 25 per cent increase is the biggest such increase in the history of the NHS. It will ensure that the NHS is equipped to care for a growing and ageing population with far more complex conditions.”

The University is now awaiting the outcome of the consultation. It says that with Department of Health backing, there could be an accredited medical school on campus.

Professor Marcus Rattray, Head of the School of Pharmacy, said: “The consultation might find there is a need for medical schools in areas without enough doctors.

“Bradford and Kirklees are both in the bottom 20 areas when you look at the number of GPs per head of population.

“We feel that we are ready, willing and able to open up a medical school here.

“We have the necessary quality, skills and staff. We already have very strong health and clinical related programmes. We’re confident we can deliver.”

Professor Shirley Congdon, deputy vice-chancellor, said: “Bradford is an area of great need in terms of population, so the area would benefit significantly from an increased number of high-quality medical practitioners.

“People who are trained locally tend to have an allegiance to the area.

“We feel the University can work with the local community, education providers, schools and academies and the local hospital trusts to provide a pathway into medicine.”

Ms Shah, whose constituency covers the campus, said: “I am fully supportive of the University’s ambitious plans to open a medical school in the city.

“I know they have been working hard to make Bradford a viable option for a medical school.

“As well as enhancing the University’s current curriculum, it would be a great boost to the local economy. Bradford would be a natural fit for a medical school – and it would further enhance the local NHS services and teaching already in the city. I will be fully supporting the University and its partners to see this vision realised.”

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “We are hugely supportive of Bradford University’s bid to open a medical school. As well as expanding the academic offer of the University, it would be additionally beneficial for the city’s residents.

“There is a big demand for health professionals, from healthcare assistants to doctors, in Bradford. If students studied to be doctors, they would be more likely to stay and practise in the district after graduation. The University already has a School of Medical Sciences which has high levels of student satisfaction. It would be an obvious next step to establish a medical school.

“The Labour Group brought a motion to the last Full Council supporting the University’s bid as part of our proposal to boost healthcare skills in the district. We were pleased that this motion received support from across the Chamber.”

Many of the University’s current health courses are highly ranked, with some considered among the best in the UK. In the latest QS World University Rankings, the University’s Medicine and Pharmacy and Pharmacology courses were ranked among the top 150 in the world. Last month the University was ranked number one in the UK for undergraduate nursing and midwifery placement satisfaction.

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