New home for the School of Healthcare Sciences

A new home for training the next generation of healthcare professionals was opened by Eluned Morgan, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, in Heath Park West at Cardiff University.

Cardiff University welcomed the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care for the official opening of the new home of School of Healthcare Sciences in the Heath Park West site. This marks the School of Healthcare Sciences being located on a single site for the first time since its inception, after a comprehensive refurbishment of what was formerly the Department of Work and Pensions.

“Our students in the School of Healthcare Sciences are trained across many healthcare disciplines and go on to provide excellent healthcare support in Wales, across the UK and even across the world – ensuring a healthier future for everyone. By investing in our education, training and research spaces, we have been able to enhance the experience for our students.

“The new site will be hugely beneficial to healthcare education and future healthcare in Wales,” said Nicola Innes, Interim Head of School at the School of Healthcare Sciences.

The site features two buildings, Tŷ’r Wyddfa and Tŷ’r Garth. These buildings offer consolidated spaces for teaching and research along with brand new simulation facilities that promote inter-professional education.

The redevelopment provides increased space for teaching and immersive simulated educational spaces on a much larger scale.

“Simulation-based education enhances students’ learning by helping to build confidence and transfer theory to practice. It exposes students to a range of different learning experiences in safe and controlled simulated environments, from basic life support to rare emergency situations. The new building in Heath Park West will provide a bespoke facility, ensuring our students develop both the clinical and non-technical skills required to become highly trained, competent and caring healthcare professionals," said Nicola Innes, Interim Head of School at the School of Healthcare Sciences.

The new facilities include:

• Modern seminar and skills spaces
• An increased number of practical rooms for the development and assessment of physical skills
• Y Fflat: a simulated community/care home setting an increased number of communication booths
• A refurbishment of the Caerleon Simulation Suite, a realistic hospital ward setting
• Y Swît: state-of-the-art simulation facilities including a briefing room, mock theatre, four large six-bedded bays simulating an acute/hospital setting and five communication booths used for developing communication, consultation, interviewing, and history taking skills
• Practical teaching rooms with dedicated spaces for manual handling and basic life support as well as flexible spaces for immersive and inter-professional education
• Computer labs
• Social spaces