Ambitious plans to open a medical school at the University of Bolton are up for approval, with the public invited to give their views.
The Deane Road university announced last April that it was planning to move towards offering full medical degrees at its new School of Medicine.
People from the nearby community have now been invited to take part in a public consultation event later in October ahead of a decision being made by the General Medical Council.
Professor Iqbal Singh, the university’s pro vice chancellor for medicine, said: "This is a very important part of the University's application to open a School of Medicine.
“It is crucial that the community understands what our plans are, and that people feel they are able to ask any questions necessary.
“We will be able to provide an update on our progress and what happens next.”
The university’s Institute of Medicine currently offers short courses designed for doctors’ career advancement, but offering full medical degrees will mark a huge step up.
The General Medical Council is currently examining the application from Bolton ahead of making its final decision.
Academics hope that if the proposal for the School of Medicine is given the go-ahead then it can dovetail with much vaunted plans to build a new medical college on the grounds of Royal Bolton Hospital in Farnworth, which the university is one of the partners behind.
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Professor Singh said: "It is an exciting time for the university, to see the £40m Institute of Medical Sciences being built in the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital, which will house state-of-the-art facilities to train future doctors."
As well as Professor Singh, the consultation event will be attended by senior university staff like vice chancellor Professor George E Holmes, provost Zubair Hanslot and by Bolton NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Fiona Noden.
They will be there to provide updates on the plans, show attendees a digital walkthrough of the planned facilities and to take questions.
The community consultation will be held at 3pm on Wednesday, October 18 at the University of Bolton’s Deane Lecture Theatre, at Senate House off Derby Street.
Anyone interested in attending can register by emailing provost@bolton.ac.uk and can include a question in advance if they wish.
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