City of Portsmouth College's new health suite hailed as 'amazing' by Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt
A £400,000 state-of-the-art learning centre at a Portsmouth college has been described as ‘amazing’ by a city MP at its official opening.
The Health Suite at City of Portsmouth College (COPC)’s Highbury campus was opened by North Portsmouth MP, Penny Mordaunt, on Friday, October 7.
Mrs Mordaunt was given a guided tour by college principal and CEO Katy Quinn, as well as governors, members of the college senior management team and teaching staff.
The Conservative MP said: ‘We know that in Portsmouth we have great difficulty training and retaining people to work in health care, and that also includes dentists and all sorts of health care professionals and people working in the care sector.
‘To improve that we need more training locally and people to have those opportunities. People won’t go into those professions unless the training facilities they have are the best. This is an amazing new facility.’
The health centre, which is on the ninth floor of the Cosham college’s landmark tower block, is designed to replicate a real-life medical facility – therefore better preparing future health care workers for employment once they graduate.
It includes a four-bay hospital ward specialising in maternity, adult acute, elderly and theatre recovery care, alongside a dispensary, nurses’ station, two bespoke classrooms and a breakout learning area.
The facility is designed for students to get a taste of real-life working environments in their training.
At the event Mrs Quinn said: ‘This represents the ambition at the college to replicate the highest-level training facilities within vocational and technical education.
‘We are bringing on those skills and training our young people for the jobs of the future and to serve the communities of Portsmouth.’
Mrs Mordaunt, who was promoted to leader of the House of Commons by prime minister Liz Truss after backing her leadership campaign, also unveiled at commemorative plaque at the college.
The college is now running two T-level pathways – healthcare science, and health and nursing. The equivalent to three A-level qualifications, these T-levels include a 45-day industry placement.
The funding came from the Department of Education as part of capital support they provided for T-levels nationally.