A medical school first for patient and public involvement, thanks to donation
19 Dec 2014
Trainee doctors at the University's Medical School are to receive greater input into their studies from patients and the public, thanks to a significant donation from the Dr Edwin Doubleday Fund
The funding will create the Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience and will allow students to work with patients and be assessed by them from the first year of study, in order to better understand their needs, feelings and deliver better treatment.
The Centre will support the development of ‘Medical Education Partners’ so that patients will assess applicants for medical school, be part of panels looking at the conduct of students and help create course materials and be able to provide feedback to tutors.
The £100,000 funding, which is spread over five years, is in response to the greater emphasis on patient and public involvement in medical education together with the NHS Constitution, which ‘puts patients at the heart of everything it does’.
The initiative was announced at a lecture given by Sir Robert Francis QC, honorary President of the Patients Association and the chair of the influential Independent Inquiry into the breakdown of care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The funding will also result in e-learning materials created at the Medical School, which will be shared with other medical schools around the world at no cost, in order to enhance the training of all doctors.
Head of School, Professor Tony Freemont said: "This is a really exciting development for the Manchester Medical School to fully integrate the experiences of patients, their families and carers into our undergraduate education.”
The University is already advanced in involving patient care in the curriculum. Students on placement are already equipped with iPads which they can use to report poor care and they meet with patients towards the end of their studies in order to receive feedback.
Professor Freemont added: “It was fitting that we could announce this at the end of a lecture from Sir Robert Francis, the author of the Francis report into the poor patient care at Mid Staffs hospital. We are grateful to the Doubleday Fund for making this opportunity possible."
Robert Doubleday, Chairman of the Trustees and Edwin’s brother said: “The Dr Edwin Doubleday Fund was set up with the specific intention of improving the relationship between the patient and those providing clinical care. The exciting initiative announced by The Manchester School of Medicine is the result of careful consideration of what would be the most effective intervention to further our shared objective of enhancing the patient experience.
“It builds on Manchester’s established reputation for being at the forefront of developing the medical undergraduate curriculum to meet the changing needs of society. The Trustees of the Fund are delighted to be involved in this ground-breaking initiative.”