Planned Inverness Campus apartments key to widening access to medicine for students in north of Scotland, says NHS Highland

Planned accommodation at Inverness Campus will be key to encouraging students in the Highlands to consider healthcare careers, says NHS Highland.

The Inverness Courier revealed that the health authority has submitted a planning application to build a range of micro apartments at the site, housing up to 100 hospital staff and students.

If approved, it marks the continued development of the campus which first opened in 2015 as an enterprise area, bringing together education, business, research and community uses.

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The proposal includes a total of 59 studio rooms, 36 cluster rooms (12 flats) and five accessible studios to be built on a site next to the National Treatment Centre Highland and the Golden Bridge.

NHS Highland said the application for residential accommodation was intended to support medical student placements.

A spokeswoman said: “This reflects the commitment of NHS Highland to support education and training to develop our future medical workforce and encourage pupils and students from across Highland region to consider healthcare careers.

“Residential accommodation is a key requirement to support more placements locally, and the board is working with a number of stakeholders to progress increased residential capacity.”

NHS Highland works with universities across Scotland to support delivery of medical education.

“The board and partner medical school programmes are proud of the quality of teaching and remote and rural learning opportunities that they co-deliver,” the spokeswoman continued.

“The plan to increase residential student accommodation is a key step in a developing programme of work between the University of Aberdeen and NHS Highland to build on the success of the Remote and Rural Programme they currently co-deliver within the MBChB course and explore opportunities to widen access to medicine for pupils across the north of Scotland and promote remote and rural medicine careers.”

The application, submitted to Highland Council, also includes associated amenity space, parking and landscaping.

The studios and accessible rooms would feature a double bed, desk space , TV, kitchenette, en-suite bathroom and dining seating.

The cluster rooms would include all but the kitchenette with the inclusion of a larger kitchen space and lounge room with bar seating, sofas, coffee table and TV.

They would be housed in two three-storey buildings, featuring black-stained timber cladding with bronze-coloured metal accents.

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