The Operating Theatre Journal - Flipbook - Page 30
Multidisciplinary clinical hub at Cardiff Met offers
new vision for healthcare delivery
The next generation of health practitioners are learning their craft at a sector-leading health hub at Cardiff Metropolitan University
following a £1.3m investment to create a collaborative clinic space across multiple health disciplines which will deliver both NHS and
private healthcare services.
These include a day case operating theatre;
a full suite of podiatry services; NHS-standard
consultation rooms for dietetics, psychology
and dental tech patients; simulated pathology
labs and inpatient/outpatient areas; a training
kitchen; a virtual reality suite and a speech
and language therapy clinician area.
Katie Thirlaway, Dean of the School of Sport
and Health Sciences at Cardiff Met said: “The
Allied Clinical Health Hub is a new way of
delivering healthcare which rethinks how our
health programmes can work collaboratively
in one dedicated hub. We have professions
learning from, with and about each other in a
multidisciplinary setting.
“This means at the end of their degree,
we’ll be producing practitioners who are
well prepared to work inter-professionally
thanks to a dedicated learning space that sees
students work authentically with patients and
each other from the second term of their 昀椀rst
year of study.
L-R Dr Amanda Squire, Interprofessional Education Lead, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor
Rachael Langford, Dean of the School of Sport and Health Sciences Professor Katie Thirlaway
and Eluned Morgan MS, Minister for Health and Social Services, at the Allied Clinical Health
Hub at Cardiff Metropolitan University
The Allied Clinical Health Hub at the
University’s Llandaff campus sees students
across Dietetics, Podiatry, Speech and
Language Therapy, Healthcare Science,
Clinical Psychology and Dental Technology
work symbiotically from one dedicated space
where they are taking responsibility for
actively organising and delivering care for
patients, supported by practice supervisors.
Today (25 January 2024) Eluned Morgan
MS, Minister for Health and Social Services,
attended a tour of the facilities at Cardiff Met
along with senior leaders from Cardiff & Vale
University Health Board, Cwm Taf Morgannwg
Health Board and Health Education and
Improvement Wales.
This could involve, for instance, a patient with
diabetes being treated for a foot wound within
the podiatry clinic and being referred on to the
dietetics team to manage their blood sugars
and then to clinical psychology to discuss their
wellbeing – without long waiting lists between
referrals and travel between clinics.
The £1.3m investment by the University, which
includes nearly £400,000 of capital grants
funding from Welsh Government allocated
via Higher Education Funding Council for
Wales (HEFCW), means students are learning
in state-of-the-art facilities on campus.
“Being able to serve our local community and
support the health and wellbeing of people
across south Wales is a commitment we have
made as a University. We are excited to make
a positive contribution to reducing waiting
times and helping people to stay well and out
of hospital.”
The facilities have caught the attention of
neighbouring Cardiff University which is
working with Cardiff Met on an interprofessional
placement exchange which will see students
from its School of Dentistry study at the
Allied Clinical Health Hub during their degree.
Cardiff Met will also be offering placement
opportunities for Cardiff University’s School
of Pharmacy students within the hub, which
will in turn allow Cardiff Met’s health sciences
students to learn directly from Pharmacy
students.
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The dedicated space for multiple health
disciplines will offer students exposure to real
world learning opportunities where patient
care will crossover between the healthcare
provisions delivered on site.
For patients, the hub aims to improve their
experience by reducing waiting times between
referrals to other health teams and creating a
seamless journey from team to team, while
also alleviating pressure from local health
boards.
THE
Eluned Morgan MS, Minister for Health and Social Services, toured the facilities at the
Allied Clinical Health Hub at Cardiff Met
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