Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has congratulated the first Occupational Therapy students to complete their academic programmes at the University of Central Lancashire.

As Patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Princess Anne met with the first graduates from the programme on Wednesday 7 October, to celebrate their achievements and officially open the Occupational Therapy Practice Skills area.

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Touring the facilities, Princess Anne saw practical skills environments and learnt about the bespoke technology and authentic (patient) case studies used to support student learning.

Having met undergraduate and postgraduate occupational therapy students and staff from the Faculty of Allied Health and Wellbeing, and local practitioners who have played a key role in the development of the programme, The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness said: “A big thank you to the University here for their support of occupational therapy.

“The Royal College is delighted that you have taken it on to this level and are evolving it so rapidly. The response to your opening up of this course locally has been enormously encouraging.”

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UCLan Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said: “We were delighted and honoured to welcome The Princess Royal to the University and share with her examples of our work and educational partnerships, as well as our vision for the future of Occupational Therapy. It was certainly a day that our students will never forget.”

UCLan’s Dr Anne Milston, Deputy Head, School of Community Health and Midwifery, led the visit of the University’s Occupational Therapy facilities and added: “This visit has been a wonderful boost for our students, staff and everyone connected with our Occupational Therapy programmes. 

“The Princess Royal is a leading advocate for our profession and we hope her visit will highlight the vital work our first cohort of talented graduates will be doing in the future to support people of all ages, whose health may prevent them from getting on with their everyday lives.”

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