Foresterhill College, Aberdeen (Hansard, 10 August 1966)

§ Mr. Ross

In view of the interest which the College has aroused I am making available the following statement:

Foresterhill College New and expanded nurse training facilities for the Aberdeen area are being provided at Foresterhill, Aberdeen, in accordance with proposals agreed by the hospital and the nurse training authorities. The object is partly to extend existing nurse training accommodation and partly to improve the standard of nurse education. The new college of nursing is situated in the Foresterhill site which already contains the University Medical School and hospitals coming under two Boards of Management. Close by is the Royal Cornhill Hospital, a large mental hospital coming under a third Board of Management. The whole site at Foresterhill is being developed to provide a hospital complex which will provide all the main specialist hospital requirements for the area. Training given at the college will be according to the syllabuses laid down by the General Nursing Council and the Central Midwives Board. The initial complement will be about 850 student nurses, pupil nurses and pupil midwives, rising ultimately to about 1,000; of these, some 240 will be using the accommodation at any one time. By concentrating the theoretical part of their training in a single college it is hoped to create a much better understanding between those being trained in the various fields of nursing. With this in mind a single common room is provided for pupil nurses, student nurses and pupil midwives, and intakes in all the disciplines are planned to coincide as far as possible. It is also the aim to associate members of the college with other students on the Foresterhill site; and joint lectures may be given. Training arrangements will be supervised by a council set up for the purpose and working in conjunction with the Regional Nurse Training Committee. Practical training will continue to be given in the Aberdeen hospitals. The college (about 40,000 square feet) is being erected by industrial building methods at a cost of about £340,000. It is modern in design and has been planned to give maximum flexibility. Teaching accommodation includes classrooms, practice suites, discussion and study rooms, together with a large 353W lecture room. A feature is the provision of a library to include bays suitable for private study by the students. There is administrative accommodation for the teaching staff at the college and students' dining and common rooms. The building should be completed by March, 1967, and it is hoped to open the college for students in May, 1967. The opening of the college should prove to be a major advance in nurse education and in the rational use of training resources and should provide scope for developing new methods of training nurses.