Building work completed on £40m state-of-the-art centre that will be ‘future of healthcare education’

Building work at the University of Bolton’s new £40m Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) has been finished with the first images released of the inside of the building.

The institute has been described as the ‘future of healthcare education and training in Greater Manchester’.

University of Bolton’s Institute of Medical Sciences

The building is now practically complete and work is continuing on the internal fit-out, ahead of welcoming its first students in September.

The Institute of Medical Sciences project received £20m from the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) in 2021, making it one of the biggest grants for any skills and employment project in the UK.

The University of Bolton also provided £20m, bringing the total cost of the facility’s construction to £40M.

Standing in the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital in Farnworth, it will accommodate students studying subjects including physiotherapy, nursing and midwifery.

3,000 learners per year

IMS is set to deliver training to approximately 3,000 learners per year and provide professional development opportunities for existing NHS staff at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and other healthcare facilities.

Subject to General Medical Council approval, the five-storey state-of-the-art building will become a medical school and home to student doctors from September 2025.

Construction has been led by contractor Willmott Dixon and generated a total of £13.3m of expenditure within a 20-mile radius since building work began three years ago. Willmott Dixon said the construction phase has created 28 new jobs, 13 of which were filled by Bolton residents.

£150m to the local economy

The facility is expected to deliver at least £150m to the local economy over its lifetime. The building will contain high-tech facilities, including simulation suites designed to recreate various healthcare delivery scenarios.

Professor George E Holmes, the man behind the project and vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton, Greater Manchester, said: “It is incredibly rewarding for us at the university to witness our flagship facility reach this important milestone of practical completion.

“It is a privilege to be home to one of the nation’s leading clinical skills facilities here in Greater Manchester and this is a key step in our aim to become a national centre of excellence for health.”

You can find out more about the University of Bolton’s Institute of Medical Sciences by clicking here