Extra student places to meet need for doctors

It is hoped students at the Three Counties Medical School will apply for jobs in the area when they graduate

The University of Worcester has been given the highest number of extra medical student places in the Midlands.

The Three Counties Medical School will now have 62 places for UK students to begin studying in the 2025/2026 academic year.

The 12 new places are in addition to 50 places allocated last October, for those starting study in September 2024.

There are also extra allocations for Aston and Warwick, with 10 places each, Birmingham, eight, and Keele, seven.

Worcester students will be based at the university's new Elizabeth Garrett Anderson building on its Severn Campus, which  opened last month, and it is hoped they will apply for jobs in the area after their degrees.

"We are delighted to accept these additional places for 2025 entry," said Prof Sandra Nicholson, Founding Dean of the Three Counties Medical School.

"This means we can contribute further to the NHS Workforce Plan and help attract doctors to the local area," she added.

The medical school opened in 2023, welcoming the first cohort of students in September, and aimed to address medical staff shortages in the area.

The university's vice chancellor and chief executive, Prof David Green, said the allocations were a good sign for the future

The university's vice chancellor and chief executive, Prof David Green, had expressed a need for higher allocations.

The University of Worcester bid for 54 additional places. The government allocated 350 places across the whole of England.

"While we are delighted to have been awarded the most additional places for any university in the whole of the Midlands, we are very disappointed that the overall allocations for 2025 are so small," said Prof Green.

"At this rate it is going to take 18 years, not five, to double the number of medical students in training in England.

"We are ready and waiting to make a full contribution to the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan – we just need authorisation to fill the places," Prof Green added.

However, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the allocations would make sure the NHS had the medical professionals it needed in the years ahead.

She added: "That’s why we are delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and doubling the number of medical school places, so we can train the next generation of world-class doctors to offer patients the highest-quality care."