New healthcare building opens at University of Huddersfield

Published: 13-Nov-2024

The new six-storey healthcare building at the University of Huddersfield is named after the first black matron to be appointed by the NHS in 1964

The Daphne Steele Building, named after a trailblazing figure in UK healthcare, has been officially opened at the University of Huddersfield’s National Health Innovation Campus (NHIC).

The six-storey building bears the name of the Guyana-born nurse who became the first Black matron to be appointed in the NHS in 1964, with the opening ceremony attended by her son Robert Steele.

The new building was constructed by BAM and designed by AHR Architects, with Cundall providing multi-disciplinary engineering services with sustainable design solutions

The new building was constructed by BAM and designed by AHR Architects, with Cundall providing multi-disciplinary engineering services with sustainable design solutions.

The Daphne Steele building is also the first of seven on the campus that will be built to the Platinum WELL building standard.

The target of the build

The wider NHIC project aims to improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the North of England and bring together public-facing facilities including award-winning student-led clinics.

The six-storey building bears the name of the Guyana-born nurse who became the first Black matron to be appointed in the NHS in 1964

The campus will be a focus for entrepreneurial academic activity and provide specialist clinical teaching facilities.

The Daphne Steele Building features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for the University’s midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, operating department practice, paramedic science, physiotherapy, podiatry, and speech and language therapy courses.

The big picture

Construction at the seven-acre site on Southgate, close to the University campus, began in early 2023. The University has planning permission for up to seven buildings for NHIC, with construction of the next, the Emily Siddon Building, now underway with completion set for autumn 2025.

Construction at the seven-acre site on Southgate, close to the University campus, began in early 2023

Among the new facilities already being used in the Daphne Steele Building are:

• High-fidelity skill labs that can replicate busy healthcare settings including a hospital ward

• The University’s award-winning podiatry clinic

• A gait analysis lab

• The ‘Simbulance’ – an ambulance simulator used by Paramedic Science students

• Quiet study and work spaces for students and staff

• A café for students, staff and visitors, and social spaces

 

Top image: [L-R] Professor Bob Cryan (University of Huddersfield Vice-Chancellor); Sir George Buckley (University of Huddersfield Chancellor); Robert Steele; Karin Smyth MP; Dr Sarah Jarvis; Harpreet Uppal MP

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