A health trust leader has highlighted the important role the University of Worcester plays in helping to provide healthcare across the county.
Michelle McKay, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said that the University helps keep local health services running by training its current and future workforce. She said it attracted people to work in the area, produced new graduates for the sector and provided the opportunity for current staff to enhance their skills.
"It's a real advantage for us," she said. "We see it as a significant attractor for our staff who want to also be able to build on academic work, teaching and research, so it's a win win all round.
"It adds to the portfolio of current staff and is an attractor for staff to come to us. We're also able to grow our future workforce."
On a recent visit to the University, Ms McKay said that developing its relationship with the University was one of the Trust's long-term goals.
"I think we have a good relationship and can continue to strengthen that as we would of course want to do," she said.
"At a purely practical level we know our vacancy rates for nurses compared to the rest of the West Midlands are comparatively lower. Our turnover rate is lower and a lot of that is to do with the fact that a lot of the nurses come from the University. They are part of the community and this is a place they want to be."
She added that the Trust's medical clinicians were keen on the University's plans for a medical school.
"It provides our clinicians with an opportunity to increase their impact and areas of influence around teaching and research," she said.
During her tour of the University, Ms McKay was shown Ability House, a residential property converted into a state-of-the-art teaching facility for those looking to go into the health professions, equipped with features to address the issues that people with disabilities experience living in the community.
She said that facilities like this were important in the developing role of care in the community and different ways of delivering care to people that enables them to live at home.