A FORMER office block has been transformed by a multimillion-pound regeneration project to help train healthcare professionals of the future.

Shackleton House, in Sunderland, is playing a key role in training nurses, psychologists, paramedics, and soon, doctors.

Along with a specially-equipped training ambulance, the cutting-edge facilities aim to give students a taste of real-life emergencies within the safety of a training environment.

The building now features two mock hospital wards, assessment suites, a mock patient transfer suite and an isolation room, designed to give students as close to a real-life emergency experience as possible.

On the second floor of the building there is a point of care area and multi-functional space with dividing walls and rooms of various sizes for a variety of uses, including objective structured clinical examination.

The top floor now replicates a mental health ward, where students will learn how to deliver restorative interventions to those experiencing mental distress and illness, develop interpersonal therapeutic skills to promote recovery and positive mental well-being.

James Rodgerson is a student paramedic at Sunderland University. He said: “For me this type of exercise is about as close to the real thing as you can get. It allows you to see the progression you are making very quickly.”

A University of Sunderland nursing and paramedic open evening is being held from 4pm to 7pm on Tuesday, February 12, for potential students.