PATIENTS in Wrexham are set to benefit from a new medical school in North Wales.

Plans for the new school in Bangor have been ongoing for years, with preparations continuing for the first set of students, who are set to join in 2024.

The new medical school for North Wales will admit and train hundreds of medical students in its first decade through both 5-year School and 4-year Graduate Entry routes, and will help ensure increased training opportunities for qualified doctors to stay and work within NHS Wales.

It is hoped that in turn, the newly qualified doctors will remain in North Wales and will contribute to providing better healthcare across the region. 

They will carry out their studies in state-of-the-art facilities at the University’s Brigantia Building and its Fron Heulog Medical and Healthcare simulation suite, including the use of leading-edge electronic dissection tables to study anatomy.

The North Wales Medical School is a Programme for Government commitment and is a partnership between the Welsh Government, Bangor University, Cardiff University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Primary Care providers across North Wales.

Following on from the news the school is preparing for its first intake of students, Wrexham's MS Lesley Griffiths said the city's residents will benefit from the programme in the future. 

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Ms Griffiths added: “Creating a specialist medical school in North Wales was one of Welsh Labour’s key manifesto commitments and I am pleased the plans are coming to fruition.

“Recruitment has been an issue but as well as investing in the school, the Welsh Government will fund up to 140 medical student places each year.

“Training the next generation of doctors at this state-of-the-art facility will hopefully encourage them to stay and work in North Wales once they have qualified.

"It is positive news for the students, for the local Health Board and for patients in Wrexham and across North Wales.”