Diagnosis: Change · Issue 869, by William Taylor

This Friday sees the launch of a new Heath Park campus survey to discover the consensus of student views towards the current provisions on campus.

The results of the survey will be used by the Students’ Union Executive to mandate the University and the Students’ Union on how to re-model the current Heath provisions.

Heath students will be asked their opinions on food outlets, bars and MedClub, and Students’ Union services.

In January 2008 the Students’ Union held an open forum at MedClub.

50 students, five members of the Students’ Union Executive, including the Heath Park Officer and the General Manager of the Students’ Union, attended the forum.

It was a chance for all attending to comment on the current food and bar provision at the Heath, the Students’ Union representation, and the proposals for a University development of MedClub.

The forum was the fourth consultation with healthcare students since the 2004 merger of the University of Wales College of Medicine and the University of Cardiff.

In February 2008, gair rhydd reported that Heath students had voiced concerns in the forum that their requests for a CF10-style café and bar had been ignored.

A need for increased food provision for students, an area separate from patients and members of staff, and increased food provision for students on-site were just some of the requests that arose from the forum.

Education and Welfare Officer Jo Plummer said: “There are 4,200 students based at the Heath, and the outcome of the development will affect them all.

“Given the contentious nature of the issue, it was felt that the only thing to do was to conduct a mass survey of Heath students, so that the Union would have a clear idea of what the majority of students want.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is for Heath students to complete this survey.”

Results published last week in the Student Satisfaction Survey revealed that 47.1% of respondents based at the Heath expressed satisfaction over the Med Club as it currently stands.

The results also showed that 36.7% of respondents had never used MedClub and nearly all respondents from the Heath called for MedClub to be turned into a facility which would provide hot drinks and food during the day and have a bar in the evening.

Some respondents also indicated that they would like to see similar services to the Students’ Union brought to the Heath, including the IT Shop and the JobShop.

Shelley Humphries, a second year Medical student, said: “The facilities at the Heath definitely need improving. The library needs expanding, with more computer rooms and generally more space for students.

“I think it is unfair that the facilities on the Heath campus are not nearly as good as those inside the Students’ Union,” she added.

Another second year Medical student, who wished to remain anonymous, goes to MedClub fortnightly for sports socials.

She said: “I don’t want them to get rid of MedClub because it is a good venue for students to have, but it does need to be updated and be more spacious to allow for more people.

“I will definitely take part in the survey because the Heath campus issues have been going on for so long and there have been so many meetings about them, but nothing ever happens.”

Plummer said that the Students’ Union Executive will “act on whatever the results of the survey are”.

“I hope that this survey can make steps to repairing the relationship and together we can work to improve the student facilities at the Heath,” Plummer concluded.