A 10-YEAR agreement has been signed by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust to help meet the region’s healthcare needs.

UCLan already trains doctors in the area, in partnership with ELHT and now they will also deliver clinical placements, joint research programmes across Pennine Lancashire and shared academic and clinical staff posts.

The university will offer two scholarships for its medicine degree from September as part of a wider, long-term UCLan strategy to attract and retain local doctors to NHS employment in the region.

One of these is specifically for UK students from East Lancashire whose circumstances mean they are unlikely to study medicine despite being academically capable, in order to promote social mobility and widen participation.

Professor Cathy Jackson, head of UCLan’s School of Medicine, said: “This is a significant step forward in our relationship with ELHT. It will provide an opportunity for our students to practice in the diverse region of East Lancashire and support the local health care economy.”

Kevin McGee, chief executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are really excited that our two institutions have joined together.”