Proposals to close Cardiff University’s school of nursing have been put on hold while an ‘alternative plan’ is considered.
The university has put forward what it has described as a ‘credible alternative’ to ditching its nursing provision – instead suggesting it teaches ‘fewer’ nursing undergraduates each year.
Earlier this year, proposals had been put forward to close the school of nursing at the university amid financial challenges – a plan which led to much upset and anger among staff and the wider profession.
In an email to staff this week, Professor Steve Riley, pro vice-chancellor of the College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, said it had now found a different proposal that could see the school saved.
What does the new proposal suggest?
The new plan would see the school of nursing run smaller undergraduate nursing cohorts than it currently offers, with degree programmes ‘reshaped’ to improve the student experience and with a student-staff ratio of 18:1.
The university would be required to widen ‘participation and equality of access for students’, including by widening routes for entry onto the nursing course, including via a possible foundation programme.
Under the proposal, Cardiff would continue to offer adult, child and mental health nursing programmes.
The school would also ‘seek to redevelop’ its postgraduate offering and remain as a ‘research base’ for nursing in Wales, Professor Riley wrote.
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‘The alternative proposal would mean teaching fewer undergraduate students each year, but focusing heavily on the student experience and support provided throughout the degree,’ he said Professor Reiley.
‘This should result in a higher proportion of students successfully graduating and moving into the Welsh NHS.’
He noted that while the new plan would take time to ‘agree and manage’, it was ‘good news for the public, patients and of course the future nursing workforce in Wales’.
Professor Riley reassured once again that, regardless of the outcome of the current consultation, current nursing students and those joining the university in 2025 would be taught at Cardiff until their course completion in 2028.
He added that the university would ‘continue dialogue’ with the Health Education Institute Wales (HEIW), NHS and Welsh Government on the proposal and its implications for the health workforce in Wales.
The proposal comes after the university, which is the only Russell Group university in Wales, launched a consultation proposing the closure of several subjects, including nursing, alongside the reduction of 400 staff across the organisation.
Are staff still at risk of redundancy?
Following the proposals, Professor Riley assured staff that Cardiff would pause consideration of any additional voluntary redundancy applications for its school of healthcare sciences.
‘The applications received so far to the voluntary severance and voluntary redundancy scheme provide the required staffing levels to offer and deliver the newly reshaped nursing programmes on a sustainable basis,’ he explained.
‘We will review any further applications for voluntary redundancy that we have received from colleagues within the school at the end of the consultation period, alongside confirming the final proposal.’
What are the next steps?
Professor Riley acknowledged that recent months had been ‘extremely challenging’ for staff and caused ‘a huge amount of uncertainty and worry’.
He added that the university will be engaging with external stakeholders and consulting with trade unions before accepting the alternative proposal.
‘I do hope that news of this alternative and sustainable solution brings some reassurance for you all. Over the coming months we will continue to develop the detail of this alternative proposal to ensure a clear roadmap for delivery, he said.
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The university is expected to hold staff meetings to discuss the new proposals over the coming weeks.
‘As always, I would like to thank you all for your continued professionalism and hope we can now press forward to secure the future for nursing at Cardiff University,’ the email ended.
Dr Ricky Hillyer, a nursing lecturer at the school of nursing, told Nursing in Practice that the proposal ‘seems to be a positive move’ and was a ‘welcome glimmer of light’.
But he cautioned that ‘questions still remain’ over how the university’s executive board ‘views nurse education’.
‘Trust will need to be rebuilt and relationships healed. The human impact on staff has been nothing short of dreadful but the support of the public, politicians, and particularly from our incredible students, has been outstanding,’ he added.
Nursing in Practice has previously heard from students who shared their concerns about how the closure of the school of nursing could impact the future of nursing in Wales.
One final year student described their cohort being made to feel like ‘second class citizens’, with communication with students seeming ‘a real afterthought’.
Helen Whyley, executive director of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales, said the university’s decision to keep its nursing provision was ‘absolutely the right thing’.
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But added that the union was ‘disappointed’ to hear that many staff have taken voluntary redundancy.
‘This uncertainty has led to a mass exodus of staff taking with them the skills and expertise needed for the future of nursing in Wales,’ she said.
‘Cardiff University now has enormous responsibility to demonstrate that it values nursing and regain its global reputation around the world.’
In January, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said plans to close Cardiff nursing school ‘threatens the pipeline of nurses’ in the country.
