Swansea University Medical School and Wuhan partners share COVID-19 innovations with British Ambassador in China.

Swansea University’s Medical School has strengthened its unique connection with Wuhan, by joining an online conference of health professionals, also attended by the British Ambassador in China, Caroline Wilson CMG, which has helped to shine a light on healthcare and innovation and Covid-19.

The University played a key role, alongside Swansea Bay University Health Board in the video conference where they had the opportunity to exchange knowledge with their colleagues from Wuhan about the management and treatment of COVID-19. They also shared their experiences of the pandemic with the Ambassador, who was visiting Wuhan at the time.

The meeting was organised by the Wuhan Consulate General and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, to further build on the cooperation between Britain and China in field of health care and innovation.

The conference was latest step forward in the close partnership between the cities of Swansea and Wuhan, which dates back to 1855 when Swansea missionary Griffith John founded the Wuhan Union Hospital.

As a result, Swansea has enjoyed links with the city ever since and in 2018, Swansea University’s Medical School launched a medical centre in Wuhan Union Hospital to promote clinical and life sciences research, and build student and staff exchanges and education and professional collaborations.

Professor Keith Lloyd, Executive Dean at Swansea University Faculty of Health and Life Science said: “Medicine is a global language and it was a privilege to share experiences of caring for people with Covid-19 with clinical colleagues from Wuhan and Swansea Bay. British Ambassador Caroline Wilson rightly emphasised the opportunities for deepening cooperation between Britain and China in the field of health care, and we look forward to building further the relationship and collaboration established over 150 years ago by Swansea’s Griffith John.”