Preparations are well under way for the opening in September of a new undergraduate medical school, which will be the first in Sussex.

Workmen are rushing around finishing buildings and kitting out laboratories.

There is already a buzz around the Falmer campus of Brighton University about the school and work is well on its way to completion.

Once opened, it will mark the start of a new era in medical teaching in Sussex as the first school to give people a chance locally to train to become doctors.

Already, the university has received about 1,000 applications and conducted 500 interviews for only 128 places, which is heartening news for Professor Richard Vincent.

Prof Vincent, who is head of the postgraduate school, an associate head of the new undergraduate school and still works as a cardiologist in Brighton, has been instrumental in helping to set it up.

He already had some idea of what he was letting himself in for after orchestrating the opening of the postgraduate school two years ago.

Now the first cohort on the popular cardiology course has successfully passed through and the school is gaining a reputation as a centre for excellence.

Prof Vincent said: "The university has a faculty of health and trains most other health professionals like nurses and physiotherapists. It has had quite a long-term aspiration to bring doctors into the faculty as well.

"We were invited to set up and make research training available to doctors but, at the same time, to work with the other professions. Nearly every course is available to other professionals as well as doctors."

The postgraduate school takes about 140 students a year for subjects such as cardiology, child health, diabetes, continuing cardiac care, medical education, public health and women's health.

Students, most of whom are already working health professionals, attend the university one day a week for teaching. The rest of the coursework is done in their own time.

Such is the popularity of what is on offer students travel from all over the country to take part.

Two students even travel from Wales one day each week.

Prof Vincent said: "One of the interesting experiences we have had through mixing GPs, psychologists, public health people and doctors from hospitals is conversations have been generated between these people that would not have otherwise happened.

"Some of the students are also non-medical. They work amazingly well as a team. All the courses are made up of modules and in the last couple of years we have generated 32 modules with about 140 students doing different programmes. The biggest programme is cardiology and it seems very popular.

"About 25 people a year do cardiology and some come from all over the country. There doesn't seem to be another course like it in the country. People seem quite prepared to travel.

"Cardiology was the first course to be up and running. There are doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, paramedics all taking it and they usually are good at helping one another.

"Partly the course fills in gaps that some professions don't have. They actually learn from each other and that's all part of our philosophy here."

Prof Vincent said the postgraduate school, which began with start up costs of about £250,000, had gone from strength to strength and was continually evolving.

He said: "It's going very well. Every couple of months we are generating new programmes of study. We are being recognised as meteoric in some quarters and we are being approached by people who want us to offer courses in different specialties. We seem to have hit the spot."

The teaching methods are also quite innovative with the school using actors to give students a more realistic experience of dealing with patients.

Prof Vincent: "I ask them to act like a certain sort of patient, for example a lady suffering post-natal depression. Students will be presented with the same scenario."

"It tests how they relate to patients and they are quite interesting learning experiences. They often get taken in by it and see it as real."

Prof Vincent admitted setting up the postgraduate school was a bit of a risk in the beginning but so far it was proving to be successful.

He said: "Initially, the university took a gamble. It had set aside start-up money for this.

"I had been in Sussex for ten years running a research unit and was asked to come on board. It was up to me to build a team.

"It was sort of a leap into the unknown.

"Pretty much everything on the courses has been developed, not internally, but in contact with the health service and staff telling us what they need."

As for the opening of the undergraduate school, Prof Vincent was understandably nervous but with the postgraduate school going so well he felt the start up and first few years of teaching should go smoothly.

He said: "The whole thing is growing wonderfully towards its opening. The first two years have been fully approved by the university and the General Medical Council seems pleased with our progress and visits us regularly.

"We have been very pleased with the response and people are very enthusiastic when they come. They are aware it is new so it will have pitfalls but, on the other hand, we are very keen to make sure it works well.

"We have had some very good appointments and continue to do so. There is a lot of experience.

"I think we have all got butterflies because, like anything exciting and new, there is lots of preparation then you have to do it for real.

"But I feel terrifically reassured by the staff and the investment."