A FORMER hospital could become home for undergraduate medical students if University College Worcester can wrestle the deeds from the NHS.

UCW is waiting for the Worcester Royal Infirmary's Castle Street site to be signed over to it.

The principal, Professor David Green, said he wanted students to learn in the best possible surroundings.

Undergraduate medical students from the University of Birmingham are already training at Worcestershire Royal Hospital alongside trainee nurses from UCW.

"We're keen to see if we can develop joint undergraduate medical education with the University of Birmingham," said Prof Green.

"There's real potential of doing something exciting there.

"It's the obvious place, for historical reasons and transport links. There's also a special chapel for nurses and midwives there."

The room where Charles Hastings founded the British Medical Association was one of the buildings that could be used by students.

"The most appropriate thing to do would be help mark the founding of the BMA with having undergraduate medical education on the site," said Prof Green.

UCW is working with development agency Advantage West Midlands to secure the site and wants to create a huge library and learning centre for the city to use.

It would include moving UCW's own library to the site, as well as incorporating separate areas within the building for the library of Worcester College of Technology, Chamber of Commerce business library and the Worcester City Library.

"If we could bring these together on one site and make it one service, we have a very exciting prospect of having a facility which little people and adults would come into," said Prof Green.

"Children would grow up with the idea that university is for them and not some kind of strange place."

Prof Green said an announcement about whether UCW had been successful was imminent.