Successful bid funds Medical School summer scheme for students from diverse backgrounds

EDGE Hill University has won funding for a residential summer School to encourage students from more diverse backgrounds to explore a career in medicine. Students from:- low income backgrounds or areas of deprivation, care leavers, young carers, refugees and 1st generation University goers with an interest in studying medicine are being encouraged to sign up.

The 3 day residential will provide them with the chance to speak to current medical students, find out more about the profession, the application process and financial support, as well as taster sessions and the chance to explore Edge Hill's campus and facilities.

Dr Peter Leadbetter, programme lead for Foundation Year Medicine at Edge Hill, said:- "We want these young people to know they've got so much to offer, that they belong and that they deserve to be here. It's so important that Doctors represent and understand the needs of the communities they're serving and we believe these young people really do. They just need to be given the opportunity and the encouragement to pursue their ambitions."

2 cohorts of 16 and 17 year olds, 140 in total, will be able to take part in the summer School led by the University's Medical School thanks to £112,000 funding awarded by the Medical Schools Council (MSC).

Applications to join the scheme; in collaboration with medical Schools at The University of Liverpool, Lancaster University and the University of Manchester; are now open, with Schools in underrepresented communities around the North West being called on to raise awareness.

Successful candidates will spend the majority of their time at Edge Hill with half day visits to the other 3 Universities.

Ongoing support provided by the MSC as part of the wider Pathway Programme will include online events such as:- Q&As with current students and medical professionals, and signposting to additional resources.

Dr Craig Keenan, Edge Hill's programme lead for widening access to medicine who led the funding bid, said:- "So many young people have what it takes to pursue a career in medicine but just don't get the opportunity because they don't recognise it as an option for them. They often don't know any medical professionals and if their School or college doesn't have the right information they won't even know which A Levels to take. They won't know about options like our Medicine with Foundation Year degree for example, which is open to those who've studied the right A Levels to join the medicine degree but whose background means they're less likely to meet the academic requirements for direct entry. We want to raise aspirations for students and their colleges or Schools."

Jake Brown, Widening Participation Officer at Lancaster University, which previously led the summer School scheme, shared feedback from a previous participant:- "It was 1 of the best possible experiences I could have had in preparation for studying medicine."

Jake added:- "Following 2 years of successful collaboration on the medical summer School, it's fantastic to see the programme continue and expand under Edge Hill's leadership. We're excited to welcome the students to our campus, knowing how truly valuable and unique the opportunity to experience multiple medical Schools through 1 programme is."

Find out more about how Edge Hill's commitment to widening participation is supporting Medical School students and apply for the summer School here. The deadline for applications is:- Friday, 10 February 2023; for questions or to join a mailing list for updates about the Pathway Programme email:- EHUWAM@EdgeHill.AC.UK.

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Holmusk and University of Liverpool join forces to establish flagship Mental Health Analytics and Research Hub

MERSEY Care NHS Foundation Trust are delighted to announce a collaboration with long term partners Holmusk[i] and the University of Liverpool to establish a mental health analytics and research hub to translate mental health research into results that directly benefit people.

This partnership aims to improve the quality of life for mental health patients and service users through data analytics and digital solutions, resulting in more opportunities to access research and innovations, improved resource utilisation, streamlined care delivery and cost savings.

This flagship collaboration will focus on Liverpool as an area of high deprivation and need[i], and will show how health systems can attract the next generation of leaders by positioning mental health as a field of innovative and state of the art research.

Prof Joe Rafferty CBE, Mersey Care's Chief Executive said:- "We look forward to the opportunity to work with our partners on this new initiative. Investment in mental health research has huge potential to reduce health inequalities, improve outcomes for our populations and boost the economic growth for our Region. With the implementation of Holmusk's Management and Supervision Tool (MaST), which manages risk for service users and patients, we've already demonstrated the impact that digital solutions can have and we're looking forward to continuing to develop innovations for the benefit of our communities."

The partners establishing this flagship hub all have deep expertise in mental health research and care delivery, including:-

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, 1 of Europe's leading institutions for mental health innovation, which was recognised in 2017 as a Global Digital Exemplar for its advanced digital transformation programmes.

Holmusk, a leading global mental health and data analytics company building the world's largest real-world evidence (RWE) platform for mental health.

The University of Liverpool, 1 of the world's leading centres for public health innovation, where its Institute of Population Health is becoming 1 of the UK's leading hubs for digital innovation in connected mental health translational research.

Nawal Roy, Holmusk Founder and Chief Executive said:- "We're delighted to be a part of this new mental health analytics and research hub. There's a dire need for better mental health care, and through this partnership, we can better collaborate to realise analytics-driven solutions for mental health and move the needle in a tangible way."

The alliance will convene leaders from industry, mental health service provision, and academia, leveraging their respective data analytics, clinical and research expertise to develop a flagship mental health learning system.

This collaboration will also oversee the development of new tools to improve delivery of care, including the expansion of capabilities for MaST, Holmusk's clinical workflow support systems that uses sophisticated predictive analytics to help mental health staff make better decisions about the resources they use to provide safer and higher quality care.

Mersey Care's involvement with MaST and Holmusk dates back to 2018, when they became the 1st NHS organisation to adopt and shape MaST, leading to a number of awards. The University of Liverpool has also been developing advanced statistical and machine learning methods for predicting complex health events including mental health crises, in partnership with Mersey Care.

Professor Iain Buchan, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Liverpool said:- "Our partnership will drive advances in predictive mental health care, evolving through close coupled science and service to meet the needs of those we serve. This collaboration will bring together data scientists with mental health researchers and professionals to create a learning system that improves prediction, refines interventions and evaluates outcomes by default."