Preston College launches new VR-led mental health course

Preston College has launched a new mental health qualification which uses technology to allow students to experience simulated patient scenarios.

The course, which launches this autumn, aims to address rising mental health issues in Preston believed to have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The college will use virtual reality training and simulation equipment as part of its efforts to bolster the mental health profession at a time when it is struggling to deal with the number of residents requiring its services.

Figures in January showed there were 23 deaths from suicide registered in Preston in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The foundation degree in health and social care (mental health), lasting two years, will offer learners the chance to gain roles in counselling or therapy, research positions, community outreach or advocacy.

The first intake of 10-12 people will begin in September 2024, with digital learning underpinning their course, which is equivalent to the first two years of a degree.

Vice principal Mick Noblett said the college, a Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology partner, had worked with the NHS and local mental health service providers to ensure the course delivered the skills they need.

He said: “There’s a two-year waiting list for young people to access mental health services in the area. We’re an area in crisis and that needs to be addressed.

“We’ve worked hard to make sure that what we’ve developed is what the sector wants and needs so that we can help solve the skills shortages in health and social care.”

Learners will study in a classroom set up to recreate different real-life health settings, including a hospital ward containing ‘dummy’ patients in beds.

Investment from the Institute of Technology partnership has gone into providing virtual reality equipment, which learners can use to move around an ‘ambulance’ to carry out tasks.

There are also age simulation suits, which include heavy padding worn on the body, goggles and ear defenders, to offer an insight into the struggles their elderly patients may face, as well as equipment such as ‘beer goggles’ to allow them to experience working with people under the influence.

Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology is a partnership of seven colleges and three universities designed to offer technical training to boost workforces and help the economy prosper.

Dawn Parkington, curriculum lead for adult health and who has a background in disability services and counselling, said the area had a high percentage of people in recovery from mental health incidents, and the course offered learning into their experiences.

She said: “Our IoT equipment offers learners a real insight into the struggles their future patients will go through, because a lot of students perhaps don’t realise people can be at these points in their life. Through using virtual reality equipment we can offer an insight into clinical areas they don’t have access to in college from day one.

“Not only that, but digital technology in patient settings is changing and we need to keep up with that so that our learners are prepared for what’s out there.”