This is an archive page

University of Sussex Media Release.
. Joint Bid For Brighton's First Undergraduate Medical School

16 November 2000
For immediate release

The Universities of Sussex and Brighton will today (November 16) announce their joint bid to create Brighton's first undergraduate medical school.

At a special meeting with NHS stakeholders, representatives from the two universities will describe plans to establish the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. If the proposals go ahead, the new school will welcome its first 128 students in 2003.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital would be the main teaching hospital for the clinical curriculum, with additional teaching facilities at the universities' Falmer sites.

The Brighton and Sussex Medical School would have a syllabus modelled on that of the University of Southampton's top-rated medical school. The proposed venture is expected to enhance patient care in Brighton and Sussex, expand the number of medically related jobs and provide greater opportunities for research in science and health-related fields.

The bid, made with the support of the NHS South East Region, is in response to a Government report recommending an increase in the number of medical students in the UK by more than 1,000.

Professor Alasdair Smith, University of Sussex Vice-Chancellor, said: "The proposed new school will be firmly based on the established strengths of the two universities in educating and training health professionals and in science teaching and research. Both institutions are committed to innovation in teaching and provide an ideal base for a forward-looking approach to medical education."

Professor Michael Whiting, Dean of the Faculty of Health at the University of Brighton and Chair of the Brighton Healthcare NHS trust, said: "I believe the partnership between the two universities and the NHS locally provides an outstanding opportunity for expanding undergraduate places and developing medical education. This will meet the needs of the national plans for the future of the NHS."

Funding for the school will come from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department of Health. The bid is to be submitted by December 1, with the outcome to be announced in the first quarter of 2001.

Notes for editors

For further information please contact Jacqui Bealing or Alison Field, Press Office, University of Sussex, Tel. 01273 678888, Fax 01273 877456, email J.A.Bealing@sussex.ac.uk or A.Field@sussex.ac.uk.

Sussex Home Page Picture.

The Pier
The Bulletin
Phone & Email
Site Map
A to Z
Search

Information for Journalists