Burnley's Victoria Mill UCLan campus and students could be on front line of coronavirus fight

Burnley's UCLan campus at Victoria Mill in Trafalagar Street has been offered to the NHS as a temporary care site during the coronavirus outbreak.
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The refurbished mill in Burnley's historic Weavers' Triangle, which was the former University Technical College building, is one of a number of facilities being offered by UCLan to help with the crisis.

UCLan has also been contacted about offering facilities and expertise for training current NHS staff and those who have offered to return after retirement to provide critical care support. If required, the university can offer this service on all three campus sites in Preston, Burnley and West Lakes.

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Student doctors and nurses from the university are also offering their services including Omani student Usama Al Siyab whoi is in the final months of his five-year training programme to become a doctor and is working at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

UCLan Burnley's Victoria MillUCLan Burnley's Victoria Mill
UCLan Burnley's Victoria Mill

Around 20 final year medical students and more than 300 final year nursing students could soon be working on the frontline during these unprecedented times of a global pandemic after the Government and their regulatory bodies appealed for help.

Details and special permissions are still being finalised, but it is expected the additional resources of student nurses would undertake a variety of tasks including taking blood, dressing wounds, inserting cannulas and catheters, giving injections, escorting patients to scans and swabbing patients for vital Covid-19 tests.

The university has alos provided a much-needed ventilator from the Clinical Skills Laboratory, while its School of Engineering facilities and staff have helped design, manufacture and 3D print much needed pieces of personal protective and technical equipment, such as facial visors and breathing mask components

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UCLan Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said: “This is an unprecedented and hugely challenging time for our NHS and extraordinary measures are needed to fight this deadly virus.

“I know our final year medicine and nursing students have received the very best training possible, this is now their opportunity to shine and support the healthcare system at a time of great need. I’m immensely proud of every one of them, along with our staff who have offered their clinical or lab expertise or technical support.”

In addition, specialist members of UCLan staff have volunteered their services to clinical, laboratory or pharmacy settings within the NHS. These include microbiologists, pharmacists, molecular biologists, doctors in emergency medicine and physician associates.

The university has also approved that staff who are unable to work from home, due to the nature of their work, can volunteer their services.

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