A MULTI-MILLION pound revamp of the education centre at Northfield’s Royal Orthopaedic Hospital was completed this week.
The Knowledge Hub, which opened in 1984. is home to research, development, teaching and training.
New business developments, a partnership with Aston University’s Medical School and better use of the hub for learning and wellbeing events have led to a bigger demand in the hub.
Among the improvements have been increasing the size of the reception area, improving the foyer so it can be used for small group meetings, staff to work on their laptops and phones and as a place where employees can take breaks.
The new medical student mezzanine will provide a teaching and common room area for those studying at the University of Birmingham and Aston University.
And the Max Harrison Lecture Theatre has new seats, carpets and lighting to create an enhanced learning environment.
It was funded through the ‘When is a chair more than a chair?’ appeal which saw every seat sponsored. Each one has a plaque on it, detailing the individual donors.
The hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest specialist units in Europe and is striving to be ‘first choice for orthopaedic care’.
The Trust is investing to ensure staff have more space, better quality facilities and that it is ‘Aston ready’ to meet the new crop of medical students from Aston University, who will attend the hospital for the first time in September of this year.
A virtual opening ceremony was screened on Facebook this week, featuring guest speakers, including Chief Executive Jo Williams, consultants and those involved in clinical education.
Click here to watch the opening on Facebook.
The Birmingham Orthopaedic Teaching Programme (BOTP), hosted by the hospital, is one of the largest and most successful orthopaedic training programmes in the UK and comprises of 40 trainees rotating through 12 hospitals across the West Midlands, all of which are committed to training.
The ROH hosts weekly teaching sessions, with 12 registrars rotationally working and learning with the Trust whilst delivering great patient experience and outcomes.
During their rotational placements from the West Midlands Deanery, nine GP trainees support the Trust in providing high standards of patient care, while receiving weekly musculoskeletal and orthopaedic training and teaching.
The library at the ROH is part of a consortium of West Midlands NHS libraries, known collectively as Base-Library.
Membership is open to all Trust staff, students on placement (for the duration of their placement), those on the BOTP, as well as Trust council members and volunteers.
Patients and members of the public can also use the library.
This latest redevelopment is another significant investment in the hospital and follows the creation of a brand new on-site Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, made possible by a generous legacy by a former patient.
The ROH’s director of strategy, estates and planning, Prof Phillip Begg, said he was thrilled to officially open it.
“This culminates many years of hard work.
“Education is at the heart of everything we do in the NHS.
“The team here live and breathe this every day.”
Ms Williams added: “We are a highly regarded teaching hospital and we have always had aspirations for our facilities to match the quality of our training.
“I hope the students will take pride in their new accommodation and the facilities will continue to thrive to inspire a generation to continue our passion of innovating and growing our future workforce.”
