The Island’s new Medical Education and Clinical Skills Centre has today been officially opened by His Honour Jack W Corrin CBE, TH, the former First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls.
His Honour said
'I feel very privileged to have been invited to perform the official opening of this new centre. It will provide the highest standards of training for the medical profession. This will ensure that Noble’s Hospital will continue to lead the field in medical education, and so protect the health of the Manx people in the years ahead.”'
The £930,000 centre is an annexe to Keyll Darree, the Education and Training Centre on the Noble’s Hospital estate, which opened with the hospital in 2003.
Dr Adrian Dashfield, Director for Medical Education at Noble’s Hospital and Trustee of the Medical Clinical Skills Charity Trust, said:
'This new facility is state of the art and will provide much needed space for a wide variety of training. The equipment is cutting edge, enabling us to accurately replicate medical emergencies and scenarios via mannequins and simulators.
'We will be able to expand our undergraduate training programme through our long established links with the medical schools in Liverpool and Manchester as well as building upon the new links we have forged with Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. The facility will enable us to offer enhanced training for the foundation doctors that come to the Isle of Man for the first one or two years of their practical medical training. This will allow us to attract strong candidates and build on our reputation for high quality medical education.'
As well as training for new doctors, the facility will serve as an accredited centre for a number of UK courses for the Island’s health care professionals. These include training for advanced life support, treatment of acutely ill patients and early recognition of life threatening events, allowing staff to prepare and practice for real life situations on wards.
The extension has only been possible thanks to the generous support of the Isle of Man Medical Research Charitable Trust, the Eric and Marion Scott Trust, the Microgaming Health and Care Trust, the Manx Stroke Foundation, the Elizabeth Clucas Foundation, Mr and Mrs Glynn Williams, Dr Roy Clague, His Honour Jack Corrin and other private donors.
The fundraising efforts were spearheaded by the Medical Clinical Skills Charity Trust and its trustees Dr Adrian Dashfield, Dr Alison Blackman, Dr Roy Clague and Dr John Wardle.
His Honour Jack Corrin has a long-standing association with medical education on the Island. He was involved in the charitable trust behind the construction of the Postgraduate Medical Centre on the old Noble’s Hospital site on Westmoreland Road, which opened in 1978. He went on to chair the trust until 2010.
Dr Dashfield added:
'There are many people to thank for the success of this project, but His Honour Jack Corrin and Dr Clague have moved heaven and earth to raise the money for the construction of this wonderful facility. I would also like to thank the Department and in particular Mike Harrington, the Director of Estates and Mary Clark, Medical Education Manager, the contractors involved in the design and build, and many more too numerous to mention.'
Minister for Health and Social Care, Howard Quayle MHK, said:
'I commend everyone involved in the successful delivery of this project. It shows the innovative ways we can develop new services and facilities. Training is essential and is the best way to improve the safety of patients. This centre represents an important investment in the quality of the Island’s healthcare for which the Department is very grateful.'
