MORE students will be able to spend their entire time training in North Wales, thanks to plans to push ahead with the establishment of a medical school based in Gwynedd.

Arfon MS, Sian Gwenllian has welcomed the news, saying she looks forward to working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the health minister and Cardiff and Bangor Universities “to establish the medical school on strong foundations”.

“Plaid Cymru and I have long argued that training doctors in Bangor is an essential part of the effort to provide first class health and care services for the people I represent and for all North Wales residents,” she said.

“That Welsh Government will now – at last – deliver a full and independent medical school for North Wales, based at Bangor.

“That, along with more medical students training in north Wales, is to be celebrated and welcomed and will be an important milestone in the process of fulfilling our long held ambition of a fully-fledged medical school in north Wales.

“It’s imperative that the new programme board works swiftly and effectively so that we can see real progress over the coming months and years.

“I look forward to working with the board, the Health Minister, with Cardiff and Bangor University and other partners as we move forward to establish the medical school on strong foundations, drawing on experiences from other places and exploring innovative ways of working, especially from the perspective of training doctors in a rural environment.”