The University of Liverpool has invested more than £1m in new state-of-the-art teaching facilities, that are set to give healthcare students unique opportunities to learn. The Florence Nightingale and Rose Thompson Suites in the School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing opened today (Friday 3 May 2024).
Named after influential women from the field of healthcare, who also have links to the University, the new facilities represent a significant milestone in the University’s commitment to excellence in clinical education.
The University’s School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing is one of the oldest and most esteemed healthcare education providers in the world, with courses in professions such as nursing, radiography and physiotherapy. The new learning spaces, based within the school, are designed to simulate real-life clinical scenarios. Highlights include sophisticated training mannequins, an interactive digital anatomy table, an X-Ray room that replicates the ones health professionals use in hospitals and a model flat to simulate home visits.
Dr Rebecca Rylance-Graham, Dean of School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing said: “We’re delighted to open these new learning spaces, designed to simulate real-life clinical scenarios and which offer a unique mix of student programmes and clinical spaces.
“The Rose Thompson CT and X-Ray Suite and the Florence Nightingale Clinical Simulation Suites will serve as a hub for experiential learning and skill development for the next generation of nursing and allied healthcare professionals. These suites afford students excellent simulation learning spaces within which they can practice nursing techniques, radiographic imaging and a whole range of clinical skills.
“Importantly, we’ve named the suites after two significant women in the history of health care – as chosen by staff. Both continue to be an inspiration and we’re honoured to welcome some of Rose Thompson’s family to the opening and have a piece of history on display with Florence Nightingale’s desk.”
L-R, Vicky Hughes, Director of Studies for the Diagnostic Radiography Undergraduate Programme, Lindsay Thompson, Rose’s Husband and Rose’s Aunt, Sonia Walker
More about Dr Rose Thompson (14 August 1956 – 14 June 2023)
Rose Thompson was a therapeutic radiographer in London and the Midlands for 26 years, founder of the CIC Social enterprise BME Cancer Communities, and founder/CEO of the Charity B’Me Against Cancer.
Rose taught University of Liverpool students from 2014 – 2022 on the Diagnostic Radiography and Radiotherapy programmes at the School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing for a number of years. While at the University, her insights and knowledge were invaluable to students in helping them practice more inclusively.
Rose was also a multi-award-winning campaigner, was the author of two BME prostate cancer reports and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences from Nottingham Trent University in 2017.
Her career in cancer services began in 1977 at Westminster Hospital radiotherapy department in central London, having qualified at Nottingham School of Radiography the year before, three months after losing her mother to advanced breast cancer. Her twin sister also died of breast cancer and Rose herself was a two-times survivor of the disease.
From 2003 to 2007, Rose was the Black and Minority Ethnic cancer information specialist at Europe’s leading cancer information charity Cancerbackup. She was honoured by Nottingham City Council with a Goose Fair Award for “the city’s best,” in recognition of the numerous cancer-focused community initiatives she had led throughout her career.
More about Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 19 August 1910)
Florence Nightingale is widely regarded as the founder of professional nursing in the UK. Her first initiative in Liverpool was to establish a district nursing service with the philanthropist William Rathbone VI. In 1863 they founded the Liverpool Training School and Home for Nurses, the first outside London. This supplied nurses for the Liverpool Royal Infirmaries, and Nightingale designed the long wards for the second infirmary which opened in 1889 (now the Waterhouse Building).
After her death, one of her family, Henry-Bonham Carter, presented her table to the Liverpool School of Nursing.
More about The School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing and Liverpool public health
The School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing is based within the University’s Institute of Population Health. Liverpool and the University has a long and esteemed history in the field of public health and is a city of firsts for improving the health of its residents. This latest investment further builds on the University’s key role in the training of the local healthcare workforce in collaboration with its NHS partners.