World-class medical services for UK armed forces

9 May 2014 03:44 PM

A centre of excellence for defence medical training has been formally dedicated in Staffordshire. 

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall formally dedicated the new home of defence medical training, Defence Medical Services (Whittington), yesterday (8 May 2014), marking the completion of a major building project.

The centre, based in the Midlands, is now a unified headquarters for theDefence Medical Services (DMS), bringing together all defence medical training into one specialist site. The final stage of this project saw the relocation of the Defence College of Health Education and Training (DCHET) to Whittington earlier this year.

The Midlands medical accommodation project has transformed the former Whittington Barracks, thanks to a £138 million investment.

The Surgeon General, Air Marshal Paul Evans, said:

Today celebrated significant milestones, including the completion of the building project which has transformed this site into a world-class centre of excellence for defence medical training with state-of-the-art facilities.

Around 7,000 trainees and students will now be able to develop their medical training every year at DMS’s new site, which includes a lecture theatre and training ward.

And the DCHET will ensure that defence medical personnel have the skills they need to deliver best practice healthcare to those serving in the UK armed forces.

Dr Dan Poulter, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, said:

The armed forces put their lives on the line for our country every day, and we have a duty to provide them with the best health facilities possible.

This new world-class centre will help enhance the medical training delivered to our armed forces personnel and ensure they receive the care they deserve.