Northumbria Health and Care Academy in Cramlington preparing to open to students this summer

Construction of the £32m education facility on the site of the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is almost finished and the first course is due to begin teaching at the development in June.

Trainee nursing associates on the course will earn a salary while receiving teaching and their learning experience will be reinforced by placements within Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Applications are closed for the first cohort, but a second cohort will be recruited later this year to start in January 2025.

Emma Dawes, the trust’s head of nursing, midwifery and allied health professional education and workforce development, said: “It is exciting that we are now preparing to welcome our first cohort of trainee nursing associates, as we are so keen to launch our academy.

“The course is a fantastic opportunity to earn while you learn, and I would encourage anyone interested to get in touch to find out more about what it could mean for your healthcare career.”

The focus of the academy will be nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, radiographers, podiatrists, and occupational therapists.

The 8,000sq m building will also feature conference facilities, office space, and meeting rooms, and the scheme also includes a drive-through Starbucks coffee shop and nature trail.

Brockwell Medical Group, now part of the trust-owned Northumbria Primary Care, will relocate its GP practice from its current site two miles away to the ground floor of the academy building.

The academy, partnered with University of Sunderland, is the first of its kind in the North and the second in the country.

It will go on to offer top-up degrees for diploma qualified staff, an enhanced practice masters-level qualification, bespoke training for non-medical prescribing, and shortened nurse training apprenticeships.

Marion Dickson, Northumbria Healthcare’s executive director for nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals, said: “We have long recognised the relationship between staff and patient experience, so providing a supportive environment of learning and development as we look to grow our own staff can only have a positive knock-on impact on the care that our patients receive.”