Liverpool University plans to build 'once-in-a-lifetime' health campus

The former Royal Liverpool Hospital building is slated for demolition in 2026

A "once-in-a-lifetime" plan to build a university health sciences campus in Liverpool has been announced.

The facility, on the site of the former Royal Liverpool Hospital, will house medical, dental and nursing training.

Prof Louise Kenny, head of the health and life sciences, said it was the most important development "since the inception of the medical school".

She said told BBC Radio Merseyside it would help address "profound health inequalities" in the region.

Prof Kenny, who has the title executive pro vice chancellor of the faculty of health and life sciences, University of Liverpool, added that this is the kind of development that only takes place "once in several generations".

Senior leaders from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance plans for an Academic Health Sciences Campus.

The Royal Liverpool Hospital, which is run by the LUHFT, moved from Prescot Street to a new building on Mount Vernon Street in 2022. The former building is planned for demolition.

The new campus will feature clinical teaching and simulation facilities, including mock wards and patient homes, as well as cutting-edge technology to train students in the use of robotics, artificial intelligence and data in medicine.

The new hospital opened on Mount Vernon Street in 2022

It will also provide clinical research space for health professionals as part of of Health Innovation Liverpool, a healthcare partnership working with the city council and partners across the region.

Prof Kenny said that since its founding in 1834, the University of Liverpool's medical school had been "at the forefront of medical practice".

"We have a rich heritage of working closely with hospitals across the region to train health professionals who go on to make a vital contribution to society," she said.

"The new Liverpool Academic Health Sciences Campus is a really exciting opportunity to build on this work.

"Our region has some profound health inequalities and we remain absolutely committed to playing our part in addressing these."

Prof Kenny said that the university is seeking partners for the project, which it is anticipated will cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

A university spokesperson said the institution "will be responsible for securing funding and anticipates working with government and commercial partnerships".

The chief executive of LUHFT, James Sumner, said the facility will offer opportunities for collaboration with the NHS. This is "essential for improving the care and treatment we deliver while also helping to tackle challenges, such as the health inequalities within the Liverpool city region," he said.

"It [will] also be an important investment in the redevelopment of a key city centre location, sitting alongside two of the newest hospitals in the country and in the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, all of which benefits the people of Liverpool and beyond."