Last week I called on the Government to support the building of a new medical school in Kent. Our county could benefit enormously from a medical school. We need more doctors locally, and Government plans to increase medical school places mean now is a golden opportunity. You can watch my question here.
I asked the Business Secretary Greg Clark, a fellow Kent MP, whether he would support the plans being drawn up by Canterbury Christ Church and the University of Kent to establish a base to teach medicine.
The Minister said that 'that proposal might be something to be taken up' because it could play a part in the Government's new industrial strategy, which aims to support local bioscience businesses in Kent.
Kent already has a lot to be proud of in life sciences. We have faculties for biosciences and pharmacy at the University of Kent, nurse and allied healthcare professional training at Christ Church, bioscience businesses in Discovery Park and the Kent Science Park and new healthcare facilities at the Kent Medical Campus near Maidstone. With so much healthcare and bioscience activity locally, there’s a really strong case for a medical school.
A new medical school is part of the emerging NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Kent and Medway, and there’s work already going on being led by Christ Church University and the University of Kent. I’m supporting the development of these proposals to support our local NHS.
