Queen's to expand medical school facilities

Health Minister Shaun Woodward has announced a major expansion of the Medical School at Queen's University following an uptake of medical student places at Queen's University.

The number of student places for medicine at Queen's rose by around a third to 250 in September. On top of this, a £7.3 million expansion of the school, including the construction of a new building, is also due to get underway soon.

Mr Woodward said: "We are determined to put patients first in the Health service. More doctors mean a better service for patients. By increasing the capacity of the medical school at Queen's, we are able to increase substantially the number of students entering medical training, and this in turn will mean more doctors trained in Northern Ireland and hopefully choosing to make their careers here.

"To ensure that the University has first class facilities and accommodation in which to train students, I have agreed to provide some £4.25 million towards the cost of the expansion of the Medical School campus on the Belfast City Hospital site."

Professor Gregson, Vice Chancellor at Queen's, said: "This decision re-affirms the position of Queen's Medical School as a leading provider of medical education in the UK and Ireland, and ensures it will remain a key contributor to the development of health services here.

"The University will contribute just over £3 million to the capital costs of this expansion. This demonstrates our continued commitment to medical education in Northern Ireland."

Medical education is currently based at Queen's School of Medicine and Dentistry, which is located on the Lisburn Road, adjacent to the Belfast City Hospital. A substantial amount of clinical training is provided in hospitals and health centres throughout Northern Ireland.

(MB/SP)