Approval for first building on new National Health Innovation Campus

The University of Huddersfield is delighted to have received the green light to start work on the first new building of its National Health Innovation Campus.

At a time when the NHS desperately needs to recruit staff to meet with the demands of patient care and health inequalities, the campus will be instrumental in training the next generation of health professionals. This transformative project will enable the rapid expansion of courses in nursing, midwifery, allied health and human sciences and contribute to the economic prosperity of the region.

Inspiring the health professionals of tomorrow

This first building on the Southgate site marks an exciting stage in the development, which will improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the North of England.

The building will be named after Daphne Steele, (pictured below) an inspirational nurse and midwife who became the first black matron in Britain. Daphne trained at St James’ Hospital in Balham, South London, after emigrating to the UK from Guyana in 1951. She worked in the US but returned to the UK and served as a nurse at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire before moving to Manchester as deputy matron at a nursing home. When that home closed, she was encouraged to apply for the position of matron at St Winifred’s Hospital in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. She became the first black matron in Britain and her appointment made news around the world.

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob Cryan said:

“I am delighted with this latest development, and it is another significant step towards our goal of improving health outcomes and leading innovation in healthcare for the North of England. It is an honour to have this first building named after Daphne Steele and I would like to thank her family for this. Such a ground-breaking figure is sure to inspire our students in their future careers.”

Tackling health issues and economic growth

The National Health Innovation Campus will work with partners across the region to address some of the health and wellbeing issues facing Yorkshire and the Humber, including high levels of obesity, the third lowest life expectancy for men and women, and the second highest rate of deaths in infancy.

The campus will feature specialist clinical teaching facilities, world leading research facilities, public facing clinics and co-located public and private sector partners. It will directly impact on the health outcomes of the people and communities across the North of England.

Health and wellbeing of individuals, medical technologies and associated services provide a key focus for economic development and business productivity, and the campus will deliver a major boost to regeneration and jobs.

Growth in the School of Human and Health Sciences has already delivered over 200 additional skilled jobs in the past four years, and planned development will deliver at least 100 more in the next five. Further, a growing international profile will see a huge expansion in training and education work, quadrupling activity on the levels of 2018-19 by 2026 with major implications for inward investment.

Working with a range of stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors will open up a diversity of income streams as well as opportunities for product and service development and design.