The University of Hertfordshire has announced it will be opening the county’s first medical school in 2026– a year earlier than originally proposed.

The news comes as the government announces tough new NHS reforms.

The new medical school, to be known as ‘The Hertfordshire Medical School’, will support reforms announced by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting today (Wednesday, 13 November) to improve patient experience and care by helping to meet the region’s and wider UK’s urgent need for more medical and healthcare professionals.

It was originally proposed to open to its first cohort of medical students in 2027.

However, in response to NHS need and after working closely with key NHS partners to pass crucial early stages in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) strict, multi-stage application process, the University has confirmed its commitment to opening in September 2026.

University of Hertfordshire Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mairi Watson, said:  “We are delighted to be able to bring our opening date for the new Hertfordshire Medical School forward to September 2026 at a time when demand could not be greater or more desperately needed.

“Our NHS is in transition, and it's long been known that universities are going to be key in delivering the solution.

"Our Medical School proposal aligns with today’s proposed reforms aimed at getting the NHS back on its feet and delivering a health service fit for the future. It also aligns with many of the previous government’s measures put forward in their NHS Workforce Plan by addressing critical medical professional shortfalls to the benefit of local communities and beyond, while training global professionals able to work anywhere in the world.

“The development is part of our ongoing commitment to advancing health, medicine and life sciences in the county and beyond and I am thrilled we are making such strong steps to make this important aspiration a reality.”

The first of its kind in Hertfordshire, the education and training provided within the Hertfordshire Medical School will build on the University’s existing and extensive portfolio of healthcare education, facilities and specialist staff and partners. It will primarily train highly skilled doctors through a five-year, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree.

Training up to 70 students a year, recruitment has already started for the first cohort of students - who will be international only - to join Herts in September 2026.

The University is then working with partners to build a case for NHS funding for home students, in line with government time frames.

The new Medical School is expected to bring substantial benefits and improvements to patient care across Hertfordshire, where the latest findings show there are currently 0.5 GPs for every 1,000 patients – compared to approximately 2.8 GPs nationally. 

It would also open up significant new research opportunities and funding within medical and life sciences and help to support increasing demand to study medicine in the East of England, which has risen to 47 per cent in the last five years.