A new state-of-the-art care suite to support the development of students seeking a career in the health and social care sector has been unveiled at Pershore College.
The facility at Pershore College, which is part of WCG, features a mock training care suite which will enable students to replicate the professional environment they would experience after completing their college course.
It comes following a collaboration between Heart of Worcestershire College, Kidderminster College and WCG secured more than £1.6 million from the Government’s Strategic Development Fund to support new capital developments in social care teaching spaces
The facility will be of benefit to all health and social care students at Pershore College, including in the delivery of T-Levels and adult-learning courses.
The college also plans to use the facility to help businesses in the health and social care sector to develop and upskill their staff.
The new hybrid care suite directly replicates two key environments which learners would face when working in the care sector. It replicates a hospital’s paediatric ward and a converted room which a professional may find in someone’s home or a care home.
The suite includes a hospital style bed, care home style bed, hoist, mannequins, a seating area, dining area and appliances such as a washing machine, dishwasher and shower.
The funding has also enabled WCG to invest in a new virtual Metaverse learning platform, which will allow students to navigate around a virtual hospital ward. The college is also planning to use the virtual learning environment in marketing to potential students.
Colleges Worcestershire, a collaboration between Heart of Worcestershire, WCG and Kidderminster College, has also created a range of free learning resources to support the care sector with a primary focus on health and domiciliary care.
Sam Starvis, Head of Health and Education Studies at Pershore College, said: “This is a fantastic new facility for our students and it will aid in the development of vital practical skills.
“The care suite replicates the environment that they would experience in industry and when they are out on work placement. So much so that we will be looking to engage with other businesses in the care sector to utilise our facility to help develop and upskill their own staff.
“This has been a long time in the works, so it is fantastic to finally be able to unveil it and open it for use by students.
“Alongside our partners within Colleges Worcestershire we have been able to create a range of excellent free education and CPD resources too, which will only further help to provide a pipeline of highly-trained workers to support the region’s health and social care sector.”
To view and access the free learning resources visit www.collegesworcestershire.co.uk
To find out more about studying health and care courses at Pershore College visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study