A MULTI-million innovative new medical education campus has been launched in Copeland.

It will combine academic facilities at the University of Central Lancashire's (UCLan) Westlakes Science Park with the new West Cumberland Hospital.

The investment is said to be millions over the next five years and the aim is to improve healthcare and develop education in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and dentistry.

The campus will also help towards delivering improvements in remote and rural healthcare, as well as providing a facility to train West Cumbria’s clinical workforce and "attract the best global students to the area to benefit patient care" say health chiefs.

Additionally, it will bring funded teaching and research posts to the area, attracting senior academics and clinicians who will lead the campus and develop the infrastructure for medical research, as well as carrying out clinical duties within the NHS in the region.

Posts - including professors and lecturers - are being advertised this week. 

The West Cumberland Medical Education Campus (WCMEC) is a collaboration between UCLan, North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group and the Samuel Lindlow Foundation. 

Professor St John Crean, executive dean of UCLan’s College of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, said: "This new campus is looking to the future and if our ambitions to work in Cumbria are fully realised, then we will have a fantastic opportunity to improve skills, research, staff recruitment and retention. The ‘halo effect’ of this programme will mean we can help attract students, doctors, teaching staff and research opportunities to Whitehaven and West Cumbria for years to come.”

Trust medical director, Dr Jeremy Rushmer, said: "This is a hugely positive step in the right direction to help address some of the longstanding issues we face in relation to our workforce, particularly in West Cumbria."

And Dr David Rogers, medical director at NHS Cumbria’s Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "This exciting and positive development will attract more medical staff and students, and the academic posts will enhance the opportunity for career development in West Cumbria, raising the profile of the area."