New Centre to Train More Doctors and Nurses in Western Sydney
A new training centre that will play a key role in training more doctors and nurses for Western Sydney has been opened in Blacktown.
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Joint Release
Prime Minister
Minister for Health And Ageing
Member for Greenway
Member for Parramatta
Member for Chifley
Member for Fowler
19 October 2011Prime Minister Julia Gillard today officially opened a new training centre in Blacktown that will play a key role in training more doctors and nurses for Western Sydney.
The Gillard Labor Government has contributed $20.6 million to build the University of Western Sydney Blacktown Mt Druitt Clinical School in one of the fastest growing areas of the country.
The Prime Minister was joined by Health Minister Nicola Roxon at the opening along with Western Sydney Federal MPs Michelle Rowland, Julie Owens, Ed Husic and Chris Hayes.
The world-class Clinical School will offer more people the opportunity to train to become doctors, nurses and allied health professionals in Western Sydney, where they are most needed.
The Blacktown Mt Druitt Clinical School has capacity for around 150 medical students that will train at both the Blacktown and Mt Druitt Hospital.
This is a significant achievement compared to six years ago when there were no medical students training at either hospital.
The Gillard Labor Government has made an enormous contribution to improve health services and medical training opportunities in Western Sydney.
The Government’s health reforms are delivering greater investment in hospitals including beds, surgery and emergency departments, more GP’s and specialists and higher investments in primary care.
Western Sydney residents are also benefiting from the Gillard Labor Government’s new GP After-Hours telephone line that has handled more than 41,000 calls since it was launched on 1 July this year.
Around a third of all calls have involved the care of children aged up to 5 years, providing parents with advice and peace of mind when they need it.
The UWS Blacktown Mt Druitt Clinical School is part of the Government’s commitment to provide a sustainable health system by training the next generation of doctors and nurses.
The school provides on-site education and research facilities for medical students including a library, theatrette, seminar rooms, a laboratory and space for clinical trials.
Students will also have access to equipment such as human patient simulators, a training mannequin used for teaching CPR and an infant patient simulator.
The new medical simulation technology is world class, comparable to equipment used at Harvard University.
The $20.6 million of Commonwealth funding for the new training facilities was provided from the Health and Hospitals Fund and the Department of Education Employment Capital Development Pool.
The Health and Hospitals Fund is the single largest investment in health infrastructure ever made by an Australian Government.
It is a key part of the Government’s reform agenda to reshape Australia’s health care system for the future.
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220
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