gair rhydd y
In this week’s issue: Stories from the Synod, NHS fees for international students revisited, morality in sport, INSRV issues and the continuation of Cagegate
Monday October 27th 2014 | freeword | Issue 1035
Heath students hit by Welsh NHS ‘crisis’ Students and staff fear exposing failings at University Hospital
EXCLUSIVE: Michael O’ConnellDavidson
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s the National Health Service in Wales comes under intense political scrutiny, a significant number of medical students have told Gair Rhydd that they are unable to share their concerns about the service or the standard of teaching at the University Hospital for fear of any ramifications. Although Cardiff University has both an established whistleblowing policy and a long tradition of free speech, numerous students approached for comment by this publication expressed
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concerns over “put[ting] their neck on the line” – adding that staff would not want word of any problems with the service to “get out.” Those who did speak on the record either retracted their statements or asked for their names to be redacted from the final version of this article. An elected student representative was equally reluctant, stating that they were unable to offer a full response as they hoped to secure a job with the NHS in future and did not want to damage their career.
This collective wariness amongst the academic health community has led to some suggesting that students on clinical degrees lack the same basic right to free speech that is afforded to those on other courses as a result of strict fitness to practice rules. Cardiff University itself also adopted a similar policy of silence, offering no comment on any matters concerning the University Hospital’s teaching and its relationship with the Welsh NHS. When pressed over the concerns of students, the University encouraged
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those with problems to speak to their tutors and academic representatives as a matter of protocol. The University also declined to comment on whether recent media controversies had affected their ability to recruit students, offering no remark on whether or not they held concern that the reputation of their placements may be endangered by persistent negative coverage of the Welsh NHS. Of those students who did speak to Gair Rhydd, a number raised issues with the standards of their placements.
Pictured: The University Hospital of Wales (Photographer: Gair Rhydd)
Continued on page 4
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