Dr Keith Bradshaw OBE and Andy Street attend health experience day for Year 9 pupils at Aston University

• Dr Keith Bradshaw OBE and the West Midlands Mayor met students on the Introduction to Healthcare programme at Aston University ‘NHS outbreak’ experience day
• The Introduction to Healthcare programme is generously funded by Keith Bradshaw
• 55 local school students attend the one-day event on Aston University campus.

Dr Keith Bradshaw OBE and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street have visited Aston University to meet Year 9 students who were attending a healthcare experience day on campus as part of the University’s Introduction to Healthcare programme.

55 school students took part in a full day of activities experiencing some areas of the healthcare professions. In one activity, the students acted as NHS finance directors during a disease outbreak, where they were asked to make financial decisions, such as choosing which departments in a hospital would be allocated funds from a £1 million budget.

The students listened to pitches from different NHS departments before creating a presentation outlining which areas would get some of the budget and the reasons why. The exercise allowed them to develop their teamwork, as well as reasoning and presentation skills.

Keith Bradshaw, a prominent businessman and philanthropist, generously funds the Keith Bradshaw Introduction to Healthcare programme, which is designed to increase students' awareness of the various careers within the healthcare sector and support students with their journeys into higher education.

Working with students in Years 8, 9 and 10 from schools within the Solihull, Birmingham and Black Country area, the programme aims to educate young people about opportunities within healthcare and the importance of achieving the right GCSE grades to pursue those professions. The programme was launched in 2018 following the success of Aston University’s Pathway to Healthcare Programme.

Keith said: “It’s been a pleasure to meet students attending the healthcare programme and hearing more - through their presentations - about their ideas on how they might manage an NHS budget and in which areas they would choose to allocate funds.

“One of the key objectives of this programme is to support young people so they can develop and deploy their skills for the benefit of the local community.

“We must get the most out of our young people, so they can support our health and welfare and live fulfilling and rewarding lives, which is why this programme – intended to widen participation into healthcare – is so very important.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “I was pleased to have the chance to visit the Introduction to Healthcare experience day, to learn more about the programme and to hear directly from the participating students.

“A key part of my mayoral mission is to help young people from across our region to raise their aspirations and support the creation of high-quality job opportunities for them here in the West Midlands.

“So, I congratulate Aston University on their wonderful widening participation efforts and will certainly play my part in advocating to Government the merits of funding and expanding these sorts of pathway programmes that do so much to help young people from all backgrounds to not only aspire to brilliant jobs but also be practically supported on the best possible route into these professions.”

For more information about the Introduction to Healthcare Programme at Aston University please visit our website.