In the presence of HRH The Countess of Wessex.
Your Royal Highness, a very warm welcome to you, and thank you for taking the time to join us today.
Vice Lord-Lieutenant, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen — Good morning, and welcome!
The Kate Granger Building is at the heart of our world-leading Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Its new simulation centre and virtual environment place the School of Health Sciences in a great position for experiential learning in UK health education. The School has established and emerging partnerships with clinical and social care providers in educational delivery, research collaborations and improving the patient experience. Its location here on our Manor Park campus enhances our work with the Vet School, and the emerging expansion will encourage increased cross-School collaboration in the future.
The Faculty’s four schools are united under the ‘One Health’ banner in their commitment to provide the best interdisciplinary research and teaching in human and animal health. Its clear vision toward ‘internationalisation’ will also see the Faculty collaborating more and more with overseas partners to tackle the most pressing health issues of our time.
We are proud that this Faculty’s courses rank in the UK Top Ten, and that the University’s fourth Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2017 was awarded for excellence in food and nutritional sciences.
Our students benefit enormously from the Kate Granger Building’s new teaching, simulation and office facilities, as well as the support of the Faculty Executive and Professional Services teams here. In this dedicated environment, they will develop and enhance their professional knowledge and skills to enhance the patient journey.
Many of you know that Dr Kate Granger MBE was a specialist registrar in geriatric medicine at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. In 2011 she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer. Along with her husband, Chris Pointon, she co-founded the #hellomynameis campaign on Twitter. This encouraged healthcare staff to establish a personal connection with patients, in support of the healing process. The campaign has since been endorsed by more than 400,000 doctors, nurses, therapists, receptionists and porters.
I would like to thank Chris – who is here with us today – for giving permission for us to name our building after Kate. We are confident that Dr Kate Granger’s legacy will live on to inspire thousands more young health care professionals to make a difference in peoples’ lives.
Thank you.
