Exeter College’s hospital training ward to grow South West’s healthcare workforce

Exeter College has officially opened its new, fully simulated hospital training ward and life sciences laboratories, giving aspiring healthcare workers in the South West access to modern hospital-standard facilities while they complete their training.

Located at the College’s Hele Road campus in Exeter city centre, the new Bakers Ward facility has been designed in collaboration with key regional partners, including the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) and the University of Exeter.

The state-of-the-art medical training spaces will be used to deliver Exeter College’s Higher Education and adult healthcare courses, along with apprenticeships and T Levels. The new facility will help grow local nursing and healthcare talent and address existing NHS workforce needs in the South West.

Bakers Ward received £1.3m in Office for Students grant funding, and at its heart is an eight-bed simulated hospital ward designed in line with current NHS guidelines and fitted with hospital-grade equipment.

The new equipment and spaces available to learners include:

• Eight-bed training ward, designed to replicate real clinical environments
• A fully fitted bariatric bay
• State-of-the-art simulated patient mannequins in each bay, fitted with 4D-printed hyper-realistic face masks
• Bespoke simulation software that allows learners to practise responses to a wide range of clinical scenarios, such as heart failure, asthma care and postoperative care
• An AI training package that allows learners to interact with an AI “patient” across hundreds of simulated scenarios
• Live streaming from each bay into a Skills Lab for group training and feedback

Alongside the new ward are two fully fitted life sciences laboratories, built to support higher-level scientific and healthcare learning, and equipped to run advanced Biology and Chemistry practicals, such as synthesising aspirin and conducting PCR testing.

Adult courses to use Bakers Ward and the laboratories will include a Nursing Associate apprenticeship delivered in partnership with the University of Exeter, Higher Education Apprenticeship in Assistant Practitioner in Healthcare, Access to Higher Education Health Professions, and Healthcare Skills Bootcamps.

Further Education learners will also benefit from using the facilities, including those studying T Level Health and Level 3 Health Science courses.

By expanding the number of learners that can access high-quality, industry-standard training, the new facility will help strengthen regional healthcare training capacity and, through partnerships with local employers and organisations, support workforce needs across the South West.

AJ Hutchings, a second year T Level Health and Adult Nursing Pathway learner at Exeter College, said:

“The ward is a big upgrade from what we’ve been used to. The patients have very realistic skin, which is really important for learners. Being able to have it as a ward for all of our practical lessons will allow us to really immerse ourselves in the experience, without the feeling of it still being part of the College. It feels like a real hospital ward.”

Duha Alkhouli, a first year T Level Health learner, said:

“I was quite surprised at how realistic it is. It will be easier to learn here because it’s more lifelike, so you can really do what you’ve been taught in lessons and learn about it in a more practical way. It’s very important to have these facilities because when you’re out on placement, and you’re in a real hospital ward, if you haven’t had the experience, you might be a bit shocked at how different it is.”

Vanessa Purday, Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“Exeter has long been at the forefront of training and nurturing healthcare talent, and we’re thrilled that Exeter College is continuing this tradition with its fantastic new training facility right in the heart of the city. The hospital training ward and its state-of-the-art equipment will help to support and inspire more people to follow a career in healthcare, and the Royal Devon is proud to be supporting Exeter College in this work.”

John Laramy CBE DL, Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group Principal and CEO, said:

“Opening Bakers Ward is an exciting moment for Exeter College and for healthcare training across the South West. This brilliant new space gives higher education learners, adults and young people the chance to develop the professional skills and confidence they need in an environment that reflects real-life NHS and industry settings.  As a College Group, we would like to thank the Office for Students for their support, as without their investment we would not have been able to bring on new higher education programmes to support the NHS, our City and our Region. 

“We’re proud to be working with the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Exeter to realise the full potential of Bakers Ward and shape the future of healthcare training in the region. It’s a truly world-class facility, and we’re looking forward to seeing learners make the most of it as they prepare for careers in healthcare.”