gair rhydd
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CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY
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ISSUE 911 NOVEMBER 30 2009
RUNNER UP BEST NEWSPAPER AT THE GUARDIAN STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS 2009 WIN A DESIGNER T-SHIRT COURTESY OF HERETICS >>page 27
FANCY CLIMBING THREE OF THE UK'S HIGHEST PEAKS IN 24 HOURS... >> FEATURES page 14
A Nobel appointment
Healthcare students finally get swine flu jab Jamie Thunder News Editor
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PHOTO: OLI FRANKLIN
diff, but it’s got to be the Nobel Prize! Although, both were equally unexpected!” Lord Kinnock said of his retirement as President: “I am delighted that my successor is of real global distinction. I will always of course, with or without any formal title, be ready, willing and eager to proclaim the worth of this University to which I owe so very much. Only my parents have given me greater opportunities.” Lord Kinnock claims that there haven’t been any lowlights during his presidency, “mainly because we’ve done so well against Swansea University in the rugby!”
Cardiff University healthcare students on placement at University Hospital Wales (UHW) have finally been offered the swine flu vaccine – over a month after the local health board was urged to provide it to frontline staff. On October 7 the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr. Tony Jewell, asked NHS organisations to “develop a plan to vaccinate those frontline staff eligible for vaccination”. An earlier letter, dated August 20, included students or trainees working with patients in that category. The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which oversees the hospital, began vaccinating its staff on October 21, but students on placement were not included. Instead many students went to the University’s own Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Unit, which did not have the vaccine. This meant that healthcare students were unable to get the vaccine even though they were in contact with patients, and in the case of 4th and 5thyear students, were heavily involved with their treatment and care. The vaccine is optional but recommended for frontline health and social care workers because of the increased risk of catching swine flu and passing it on to already vulnerable people. Students on placement at UHW will now be sent a letter allowing them to make an appointment at a local GP practice to have the vaccination. However, the vaccination of students who were on placement at UHW but are now elsewhere will be the responsibility of their new Health Board. A Cardiff and Vale University Health Board spokesperson said: “Cardiff and Vale Silver Command A/ H1N1 agreed that the vaccine should be offered to these students through the primary care route."
Cardiff welcomes Nobel Laureate as new President Ceri Isfryn News Editor Cardiff University inaugurated Nobel Prize winner Sir Martin Evans as its new President last week as Lord Neil Kinnock stepped down after 11 years in the role. The baton was formally passed during an inauguration ceremony held at the National Museum last Monday. Sir Martin, 68, won science’s most prestigious acclaim in 2007 after he became the first scientist to identify embryonic stem cells. Worldwide, Sir Martin is regarded as “the father of stem cell research” and was named by The Independent as one of the “ten
Britons who have shaped our world” in 2007. Speaking to gair rhydd, Sir Martin described Lord Kinnock as an “intimidating act to follow”. He also voiced his hopes for the sustenance of the developments started during Lord Kinnock’s presidency, commenting that, “one of the important things in development is to have a plan. “Cardiff University is now developing an ambitious forward plan and we hope to work to it as well as we can. Students are the leaders of tomorrow, and we must give them the right tools to do it,” he added. When questioned about the University’s recent drop in the UK rankings,
Sir Martin urged students and colleagues not to be too despondent about league tables at this point in time. “We’ve put a lot of our efforts into the merger with the medical school over recent years, which has proven to be very successful and has enabled us to embark on a number of new ventures. As a result of this, we may have taken our eye a little off the ball but I don’t think so particularly. We’ve got to work hard on research, but we can’t just go for ratings, we’ve got to go for the overall excellence - the ratings will come out of the excellence.” When asked which was the greatest honour - the Nobel Prize or his appointment as President - a smiling Sir Martin responded, “I’m sorry Car-