Patient beds destined to be scrapped have been rehomed at Oldham College to support students undertaking healthcare T Levels.
The opportunity to acquire and repurpose some patient beds arose after a big clear out of old equipment at The Royal Oldham Hospital in July last year.
Lots of unusable and unsafe equipment was being disposed of to maximise space on site. This included several old patient beds, which were ready to be transported to a local disposal centre, when the Trust hit upon the idea of donating the items to Oldham College healthcare students.
Julie Miller, NCA T Level Development Manager said: “The NCA are always looking for innovative ways to support the development of our future workforce. We seized the opportunity to help Oldham College by offering patient beds for use in their new simulation suite. These are extremely expensive items to purchase new and the money saved can be used to provide even greater resources for students. It’s also great to be able to help in a sustainable way.”
Deborah Allen, Head of Faculty (Caring Professions) at Oldham College, added: “This is another fantastic example of the strong partnership Oldham College shares with the NCA, and we are extremely grateful to them for providing this resource for our learners. These beds are already proving to be a valuable resource, enabling us to provide innovative yet contextualised learning. The beds will undoubtedly be of huge benefit to our future cohorts of health professionals.”
As part of the Northern Care College Alliance, the NCA works with local colleges to support curriculum design and host T Level placements. Two NCA patient beds are now available at Oldham College, helping to provide a realistic stimulation suite and learning environment for students undertaking a healthcare T Level Programme.
You can read more about how the NCA is aiming to achieve its environmental and sustainability ambitions with great initiatives like this in the NCA Green Plan.