Academics fear cover-up over preparations for major cuts at Cardiff University

Martin Shipton

Senior academics are demanding full disclosure about discussions that took place behind the scenes before plans by Cardiff University to cut around 400 jobs and close five Schools were announced this week.

Some believe that the university may have acted improperly by colluding with other higher education bodies before sharing the plan with its own workforce.

At the centre of concerns is the proposal to close Cardiff University’s nursing school.

One senior academic told Nation.Cymru: “We have heard that discussions took place between senior representatives of Cardiff University and University of South Wales about USW training nurses who up until now would be trained at Cardiff University.

“If that has happened, it would be highly irregular and make a nonsense of the redundancy consultation process that has begun at Cardiff University, which legally is meant to find alternatives to redundancy. There must be total openness about what has gone on.”

‘Serious mismanagement’

Another senior Cardiff University academic said: “The proposals represent serious mismanagement by the university, which if implemented will do untold damage to its standing and to the Welsh economy.

“The very worst of the proposals is to close the Nursing School, which in providing trained nurses to the NHS in Wales fulfils the obligation to serve the community that has been at the heart of our values since the foundation of the University of Wales in the late 19th century.”

We asked the Welsh Government a series of questions:

When was the Welsh Government made aware by Cardiff University of its programme of cuts?

When were Ministers informed?

What representations were made by the Welsh Government to Cardiff University about the plan, and when?

What are the terms and duration of the current contract with Cardiff University to supply nurses to NHS Wales?

What talks have the Welsh Government been involved with to secure the future supply of nurses for NHS Wales as a result of the announced cuts?

Is the Welsh Government aware of discussions between Cardiff University and other HE institutions or HEIW [Health Education and Improvement Wales – the special health authority that commissions education and training for NHS Wales] about the future supply of nurses in light of the announced cuts?

We received these replies:

“Ministers were informed of the university’s proposals last week.

“The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care [Jeremy Miles] met the Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University on 27 January to raise his concerns about the proposals concerning nursing

“You will need to contact HEIW [for a response to the question about the contract to supply nurses to NHS Wales].

“We are working urgently with HEIW to ensure we train the same number of nurses in Wales and there will be extensive engagement undertaken with both Cardiff University and HEIW to ensure all options for continuity of nursing provision are explored.

“We are confident whatever the final decision, alternative plans can be put in place to ensure continuation of provision so there is no impact on the numbers of nurses trained in Wales.”

Cuts

We put a number of questions to Cardiff University:

When did Cardiff University inform the Welsh Government of its proposed cuts plans?

When specifically did the university inform the Welsh Government of the proposal to close the Nursing School?

What discussions has the university had with other HE institutions or HEIW about the contract to supply nurses to NHS Wales?

Have such discussions – either formal or informal – taken place between Cardiff University and the University of South Wales, and if so when?

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We informed the Welsh Government of our proposals for our future academic shape last week.

“As above, we informed the Welsh Government of our proposals to cease Nursing last week.

“We have not had any discussions with other HE institutions about the contract to supply nurses to NHS Wales. We have regular contact with HEIW, the body with when we have a contract, as would be expected in the course of two institutions working together. We notified HEIW of our proposals last week.

“We did not have formal or informal discussions with the University of South Wales or any other institution about the contract to supply nurses to NHS Wales before the consultation opened. To do so would have been a serious breach of Competition and Marketing Authority guidelines. Now that we have commenced the consultation, we will be working with a range of partners to ensure a secure and sustainable pipeline of well-qualified nurses for Wales.”

Discussions

We asked the University of South Wales whether it had been involved in discussions – formally or informally – with Cardiff University, the Welsh Government or HEIW about taking over the future supply of nurses to NHS Wales, and if so when such discussions begin.

A University of South Wales spokesperson responded: “As one of the leading providers of nursing and allied health education in Wales, we have regular conversations with our health partners about future provision.

“Following Cardiff University’s announcement, we will engage with them and our partners about how we can ensure access to nurse education in the region. We are sure other universities will do the same.”

We asked the USW spokesperson when USW became aware of Cardiff University’s plan to close down its Nursing School, but received no reply.

We have also put the following questions to HEIW:

* What are the terms and duration of the current contract with Cardiff University to supply nurses to NHS Wales?

* When did HEIW become aware of Cardiff University’s intention to close its Nursing School?

* Is HEIW aware of discussions having taken place about the future supply of nurses to NHS Wales involving Cardiff University and the University of South Wales before the announcement of the proposed School closure was made? If so, please supply what information is known to HEIW in terms of the timing of such discussions and the nature of them.