Petition in bid to save School of Nursing and Health Care

Students and staff fighting to save a nursing school from closure have presented a petition to university leaders in support of their cause.

Glasgow University is consulting on whether to scrap its School of Nursing and Health Care as part of wider cuts to courses.

More than 2100 people have backed a campaign to retain the degree course, including celebrity TV doctor Chris Steele of This Morning fame.

Campaigners handed over the petition to university principal Anton Muscatelli yesterday, International Nurses Day, which also marked the 191st anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

Students Stuart Tuckwood and Lyndsey Cromar were joined by Margaret Sneddon, head of the School of Nursing & Health Care, to deliver the petition.

The school has received support from the Royal College of Nursing, The Beatson, The Golden Jubilee Hospital, Sandra White MSP and the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity.

Supporters argue that its nurses are in high demand – with a 99% employability rate – and that it also undertakes cutting edge research.

They also argue that the school’s Bachelor of Nursing degree is unique in Scotland because it provides undergraduates with additional leadership and clinical skills.

The school was set up by the late Professor Edward McGirr CBE, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the university in 1978 because he wanted to give nurses greater recognition in the health service.

Professor’s McGirr’s grand-daughter Lisa MacLachlan, 31, herself a nurse graduate of the school, said he would have been “horrified” to learn of its fate.

Other courses facing cuts include anthropology and social work, as well as evening and weekend classes. The plans are part of a strategy to find £20 million in savings by 2012-13.

Third year student, Queen Uchenna Ahaotu, originally from Nigeria, said: “I feel blessed to be a part of this Nursing School.

“It feels like a second home and I wouldn’t change my learning experience here for any other university. The course is well integrated.

“The students and staff are delighted that the petition shows tremendous support for the school.

“Many nursing and medical staff across Glasgow have signed it because they are shocked at the proposal.

“About 25% of the signatures are from outside of the UK and there are many supportive comments from all over the world from people who have links with the school.”