University of Cumbria and Imperial College London medical school will tackle recruitment issues

The University of Cumbria and Imperial College London are working together to launch a new graduate entry medical school in Carlisle, an area of England where the recruitment and retention of medical staff remains a significant challenge.

The new school, which aims to enrol its first students in autumn 2025, will train new doctors for Cumbria and north-west England to transform healthcare in local communities.

Imperial’s medical school is considered one of the best in the world. This partnership aims to unite that strength with the University of Cumbria’s expertise in the education of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to improve the region’s access to world-class clinical care.

University of Cumbria deputy vice chancellor health, environment and innovation Professor Brian Webster-Henderson, who is strategic lead on the initiative, said: “This significant partnership will enable us to expand our diverse healthcare portfolio to include medicine for the first time, and develop joint research programmes to address many of the county’s unique challenges. The new school’s location will have the dual benefit of opening up more opportunities to study medicine in the north-west, and provide a steady stream of trained doctors for the region.”

In addition to the medical school, the University of Cumbria and Imperial College London are planning a range of local collaborative research programmes in the north-west and London.

Picture: An artist’s impression of the Carlisle Citadels campus where the proposed medical school will be based.

Published on page 18 of the May 2022 issue of RAD Magazine.