Academic teaching staff face redundancy at British universities

Helen Barratt London

Many university lecturers in the United Kingdom are facing redundancy, as higher education institutions are forced to axe jobs, after budget cuts and falls in the number of students on some courses. According to a recent report in the Guardian,¹ medical schools could be some of the worst hit, along with engineering, social sciences, and modern languages departments.

The BMA is particularly concerned that Guy's, King's, and St Thomas's School of Medicine, London, is planning to shed about 50 clinical academic posts, in an effort to save £3.5m (¤5.5m; $5m) per year.

Universities are already facing a constant battle to recruit academics in all fields, with low pay cited as the most common cause. Currently, 300 unfilled vacancies exist for clinical
academics alone, including 73 professors. Despite the government's pledge to recruit an extra 15 000 doctors to the NHS, staffing levels are not about to improve.

By next year, the number of medical students studying in UK medical schools will have increased by more than half since 1998. The BMA estimates that, to meet the demands of this increase in student numbers, the number of academics needs to rise by the same amount, to maintain both the teacher to student ratio and the quality of teaching.

Clinical academics have multiple demands on their time--a major cause of recruitment difficulties. Figures suggest that many work a 64 hour week routinely--32 for the NHS and 32 for their university. They are not only expected to treat patients and teach students but also to conduct research.

Dr Colin Smith, chairman of the BMA's medical academic staff committee, said, "While we welcome the Government's pledge to have an extra 15 000 doctors, we fear these plans could be jeopardised if there are not the academic staff to teach the new recruits. The actions of GKT will impede the Government's attempts to boost the medical workforce even further."



studentBMJ 2002;10:215-258 July ISSN 0966-6494

1. Woodward W. Cuts mean universities risk loss of 1,400 jobs. Guardian 2002 May 21:1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Archive/Article/0,4273,4417635,00.html (accessed 30 May 2002).