A new £10 million School of Health Studies was officially opened at the University of Bradford yesterday by Paralympic athlete Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

More than 2,000 staff and students have relocated from their former site in Trinity Road to the new building, which stands on the gateway to the main City Campus and offers state-of-the-art facilities for subjects including midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, radiography and health and social care.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, who was among 200 guests at the opening ceremony, said the building would help raise the profile of the university and the city.

She said “The success of the school is that it has been made an amazing place to teach the next generation of nurses and physios. In fields like medicine it’s really important to have the most up-to-date equipment.

“If you have a facility like this, it means lots more students will want to come here to study and it raises the profile of Bradford.”

Facilities have been designed to provide students with the best practical experience possible for their future professions. They include two fully-furnished clinical wards, two physiotherapy rooms, movement laboratories, practical rooms and equipment and models for midwifery students.

Occupational therapy students will benefit from two suites including a room fitted with a kitchen and bathroom where they can learn to assist vulnerable people with independent living.

The building also includes an x-ray suite and picture archiving and communications systems.

Shirley Congdon, dean of the School of Health Studies, said: “These facilities will strengthen our academics’ ability to provide students with learning opportunities and develop their knowledge and skills to make a positive impact on patient care. Bradford graduates will have a significant advantage in securing employment in the health and social care sector.”

Wilson Inije, a second year diagnostic radiography student, who helped suggest ideas for the building’s design, said: “The facilities are brilliant. We’re now using ultra-modern equipment, the same as we’ll be using in a modern hospital setting, so in terms of employability, I really feel we have an edge over students from other universities.”