Nepean and Concord stand on their own

The increased teaching and research activities of the Faculty of Medicine at Concord and Nepean Hospitals have now been recognised by the establishment of two new clinical schools in these locations.

Activities at Concord Hospital were formally part of the Central Clinical School, which covered both Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Hospitals.
"The Central Clinical School has grown significantly, training more medical students than any other clinical school (and more than many other entire medical schools); it includes a number of large and productive research units and has a very active research profile. Its very size has made it increasingly difficult to manage, especially when Concord itself is growing rapidly in terms of research and training", explains Acting Dean, Professor Bruce Robinson.

The same is the case for Faculty activities at Nepean Hospital. In the early 1990's when the NSW government provided funds for a clinical school at Nepean Hospital, it made sense for this fledgling school to be fostered by its 'big brother' at Westmead. In its early years Nepean did depend on Westmead for much of its teaching but now that is no longer the case. "Research activity is growing at Nepean and it is important that this Faculty be able to cater for the increasing numbers of medical students expected of it", says Professor Robinson. "It is also critical that we retain our presence and strong identity in the West of Sydney."

The two new schools will be known as Nepean Clinical School and Concord Clinical School. This will mean that the Faculty of Medicine will have 5 clinical schools in the Sydney Metropolitan area.