Medical school saves funding for medics

One of the UK's newest medical schools, the Peninsula Medical School, is developing a model for funding student placements in a bid to stop the Department of Health transferring money from medics to other healthcare students.

In July, the DoH published a consultation document on the use of National Health Service learning and development funding. It called for a "rebasing of placement funding to support all disciplines". Traditionally, clinical placements for medical students have been funded through a separate levy, called the service increment for teaching or Sift.

John Tooke, dean of the PMS, negotiated a transparent funding arrangement with his local NHS trusts. Michael Powell, executive secretary of the Council of Heads of Medical Schools, said: "The systems put in place by the new medical school could be a model for the sector as a whole."