Keele’s major role in our local NHS celebrated

• More than 200 of Keele University’s healthcare academics also work in the NHS;
• These include Dr Pensée Wu, a senior lecturer and researcher at the University, who has delivered more than 500 babies at the local hospital, and Kevin Armstrong who has attended almost 10,000 call-outs as a paramedic in Staffordshire;
• The University has now launched a new campaign to celebrate its positive impact on the NHS.

Many Keele academics do more than just teach. Over 200 of the University's healthcare academics can also be found working on the NHS frontline across Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent, and Staffordshire, and this positive local impact is being celebrated in a new campaign launching today.

From delivering babies at Royal Stoke University Hospital, to paramedics responding to emergencies on the frontline with West Midlands Ambulance Service, the research and clinical expertise at Keele plays a crucial role not only in preparing students for future careers in health and medicine, but in looking after local lives on a daily basis.

The campaign celebrates a number of Keele academics who also work locally in the NHS, including:

• Dr Pensée Wu, a senior lecturer and researcher at the University, who is also a senior doctor at Royal Stoke University Hospital where she has delivered more than 500 babies and counting – including performing emergency caesareans;
• Kevin Armstrong, Keele’s Director of Paramedic Services, who also works part-time as a paramedic for West Midlands Ambulance Service, where he has attended almost 10,000 callouts;
• Professor Jo Protheroe, Keele’s Director of General Practice Education, who has also been a GP for more than 20 years, and looks after patients at a surgery in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Dr Pensée Wu, whose research into risks associated with infertility treatment made international headlines last year, said: "It is important to know what happens day-to-day in hospitals, so that what I do with my research, or what I teach my students, reflects what happens on the ground. I take all the day-to-day experience of working in a hospital back to Keele with me, so on my research days I can think about what the problems are we see in the NHS, and how we can use research to tackle them."

Keele has a long and proud history of working with the local NHS and care providers, delivering wide-ranging and world-leading research and education partnerships. More than 5,000 Keele-trained nurses and midwives work in the NHS, with many of them staying locally in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent after they graduate. The University has also trained more than 1,300 doctors and has partnerships with more than 100 GP practices in the area, where students can help support the health and wellbeing of local communities and benefit from gaining clinical experience and quality placements.

The University has created videos of Dr Pensée Wu, Kevin Armstrong, and Professor Jo Protheroe, to highlight their roles at Keele and in the NHS.

Keele's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Trevor McMillan OBE, said: "We’re rightly proud that Keele has trained thousands of students for careers in the NHS, from doctors and nurses, to physiotherapists, midwives, and more.

"But what some people might not realise is that many of our healthcare academics are also working on the frontline of the NHS in our local area, directly helping and caring for people in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme on a daily basis. Through their different roles, they are training the next generation whilst also looking after our local communities.

"Keele will be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year, and our founding principle remains the same as when the University was established in 1949 - we're passionate about supporting our local communities in Staffordshire, and in striving to be a university that local people can be proud of."