NHS crisis will go on if no trainee doctors says Worcester University

More than 1,000 applications have been made to study at the Three Counties Medical School, set to open at the university this September.

Funding from the Kildare Trust and local NHS partners will finance 20 places for UK students starting this year, for the duration of their four-year programme.

But a spokesperson for the university said despite the 'desperate need' for more doctors in the area: “We have not yet been allocated a single place by HM Government."

“We have not yet been allocated a single place by HM Government,” they said.

“We, and our NHS partners, would like to be able to offer many more but this will only be possible if central government funds places.

“There is a desperate need for more medical doctors to work in the Three Counties and the wider region.”

READ MORE: University of Worcester nears completion of new medical centre

The new school is set to open in September (Image: NQ)

These calls have been echoed by both the city’s Conservative MP and the local Liberal Democrats.

County councillor Dan Boatright, the Lib Dems parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire, said: “It is incredibly frustrating to see a new medical school being built in our county but almost no local student being able to access the courses available.

“We have a crisis unfolding in our NHS and the government refuses to fund the future of our medical profession.”

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, said: “I have been campaigning for this for about a year now.

“It is an issue that I have been leading the charge for and will continue to do so until we secure more places.”

The university said it was “very grateful” for the support shown by local politicians but has warned that if nothing is done soon, pressures facing the NHS will continue.

“The bottom line is that the region needs hundreds more new doctors,” said a spokesperson.

“The longer HM Government delays in funding the places for training new medical doctors the longer the NHS will be in crisis.”

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The Three Counties Medical School has been covered in eye-catching gold tiles (Image: NQ)

As UK students cannot self-fund and with no funded places provided, the university spokesperson explained that the best way forward is to start with a mix of self-funded international students and UK students supported by funding from philanthropy and NHS partners.

“This will put the Three Counties Medical School in the best position to immediately increase the number of students we educate once the Government decides to provide funded places,” they added.

“The University remains deeply committed to creating medical school places for UK students to serve the people of this region and will continue to campaign for funded places to be allocated as soon as possible."

The Three Counties Medical School is currently under construction in Hylton Road, on the site of the former Worcester News offices, and will open to students in

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.