Glasgow University

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22nd October 2008

Energy costs GUU jobs

THE GLASGOW UNIVERSITY UNION(GUU) has been forced to lay off a number of employees as a result of the rising cost of fuel.Chris Birrell, president of the GUU, toldGuardian that the union was losing a lot of money on utility bills and facing another yearof financial hardship as a result:He said: “The major problem facing theGUU this year is managing our rising utilitiescosts. The cost of oil and electricity has skyrocketed, and with such a large building andinefficient old oil boiler, we are losing a lotof money. We are currently working with theUniversity in addressing these problems.”Birrell confirmed that there had beencutbacks in staff, but was unwilling to expandupon the particulars of the matter.

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Burn, baby, burn

News Staff

Look before you leap: abseilers raise record funds for charity

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NHS blockon new Hubpharmacy

PLANS TO INTRODUCE Apharmacy in the refurbishedHub have been blocked bythe NHS Pharmacy PracticeCommittee (PPC) in the inter-ests of local competition.Neeraj Salwan, co-ownerof Apple Pharmacy, submittedthe application for a pharmacyto a panel consisting of thePPC and the representativesof the pharmacies in the localvicinity, referred to as the‘interested parties’.The objective of themeeting was to “determinewhether the granting of theapplication was necessaryor desirable to secure theadequate provision of phar-maceutical services in theneighbourhood”. The panelconcluded that the applicationwas neither and voted unani-mously against it.It was decided that theBoots on Byers Road and theAndrew Hand Pharmacy onDumbarton road were the twopharmacies situated insidethe boundaries of the localneighbourhood. Both MrSalwan, ‘the Applicant’, andMr Charles Tait, representingBoots pharmaceutical chain,admitted that the subject of theboundaries had been the topicof some debate.Mr Salwan said: “I’mgoing to go back for anotherlook, in past cases the local‘neighbourhood’ has oftenbeen hard to define.“The issue is compli-cated by the fact that there arestudents coming onto campuseveryday from many differentneighbourhoods.”Mr Tait also said: “Thereis always a dispute over theboundaries of the local neigh-bourhood, but it is the prerog-ative of the PharmaceuticalPractice Committee to decideon this matter.”Prior to the meeting, thecommittee visited StirlingUniversity’s on-campus phar-macy, a site which whichMr Salwan advocated as aperfect test case for the Hubproposals.“It is impossible to deny thegood service that the StirlingCampus pharmacy providesto students. We spoke to the

George Binning

pharmacist and saw how valu-able a pharmacy was, espe-cially in its capacity to devoteextra time and resources to theneeds of students.“I believe the proposalwill improve existing pharma-ceutical services rather thandetract from their business.In Glasgow there seems to bea gap in the market for thisspecialised sort of service.”Charles Tait, representingthe Boots pharmacy chain,disagreed, saying that thelocation of Stirling campusdiffered significantly from thatof Glasgow, arguing:“The site of the Hub’spharmacy is in a distinct cate-gory to Stirling’s on-campuspharmacy. The differencebeing that the Hub is in themiddle of a major city, and itsimpact on the neighbourhoodwould be greater.”A range of student specificservices was suggested in theapplication. Mr Salwan putforward suggestions includinga travel clinic boasting a widerange of vaccines and a sexualhealth clinic with Chlamydia

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Photo: Jim Wilson

Unanimous rejection for health centre proposalSRC expresses disappointment at panel ruling

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk

22nd October 2008

Hub hit by pharmacy rejection

Mr Tait was of the same stance:“Boots already offers sexual healthadvice, but not all travel vaccines,though they can be ordered in.”Mr Hughes raised the subject of access to the Hub, claiming: “If entryto the Hub is requires a student card,then public access becomes an issue.If it is then classed as a private phar-macy then it will be impossible to getremuneration from the NHS.”Similarly Mr Tait claimed: “Nopharmacy purely aimed at studentswould be viable.”However, with a population of 20,000 students and almost 6000staff, Mr Salwan did not foreseea problem arising: “It is not juststudents but the thousands of staff who will be able to make use of thefacilities; I do not intend to make amassive profit on the project.”He did concede that the phar-macy would be unfeasible withoutthe participation of the NHS: “Wewould need an NHS contract to makethe pharmacy possible.”Mr Salwan also told Guardianthat he intended to resubmit his appli-cation to the committee.He said: “I will be submitting afresh application with more backingin the near future. The date for thenext hearing will be arranged bythe health board. I will be going forit guns blazing this time. I want toplay more on the desirability of theproposal in the next application.”Gerry Hughes explained that thelaw was unbending in relation to thecreation of new pharmacies: “If thereis already adequacy of provision thequestion of desirability is negated,this is a statutory instrument. We hadno choice but to reject the applicationas we have a strict set of proceduresto follow.”Gavin Lee, president of the SRC,expressed frustration at the PPC’sdecision: “The SRC is extremelydisappointed that the application

Pete Ramand

Glasgow students protest banking bail-out

STUDENTS AND TRADE UNIONISTSdemonstrated against bank-bailouts outsideHalifax Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and theRoyal Bank of Scotland in Glasgow on October18th.Danny McGregor, one of the organisersof the demonstration, outlined the demands of the protestors, highlighting the issues raised byrescuing big business with taxpayers’ money.He said: “Working people should not be thevictims of job losses and home repossessionswhile the bankers are being bailed out withbillions of pounds of public money.“Glasgow hosts some of the biggest finan-cial corporations in the world. Despite thecorporations being part of the cause of thiscrisis it is their profits that are being saved.“We demand a bail-out of ordinary people,not the bankers; and to nationalise the profits,not the debts.”RBS declined to comment, while bothHBoS and Lloyds TSB were also unavailableto make a statement.The demonstration was organised by theSocialist Workers Student Society as a preludeto a mobilisation planned for October 31stoutside the corporate headquarters of HBoS inEdinburgh.This event follows a series of demonstra-tions over the bank bailouts; the most notable

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testing and emergency hormonalcontraception available, to which MrTait pointed out that some of theservices promised were unavailableon the NHS, and would have had tobe privately contracted.Gerry Hughes, representative forthe Greater Glasgow and Clyde AreaPharmaceutical CP Subcommittee,said that his pharmacy was ableto provide the majority of travelvaccines already.“We have all the travel vaccines theHub would be offering, except forJapanese Encephalitis B and YellowFever.”for a pharmacy in The Hub hasbeen rejected. There is a real andsignificant need for a pharmacy oncampus.“We believe that having a phar-macy at the centre of campus willbenefit students’ health and well-being, and encourage far morestudents to seek out treatment for anyillness they may be experiencing. TheSRC will actively support any appli-cation for a pharmacy on GilmorehillCampus.”Peter Venables, the third inter-ested party, representing AndrewHand pharmacy, declined to commenton the matter.

Photo: Jim Wilson

of which was held in London on October 10th,where 700 students attempted to occupy theBank of England.In what was dubbed ‘Fight-back Friday’students attempted to break into the Londonbank.Steve Henshaw, one of the organisers of theprotest, described the scene.He said: “The police couldn’t really controlthings, and many started lashing out punches infrustration. The crowd were eventually trappedinto a corner by police on horseback and offi-cers with dogs.“It’s becoming harder to pay bills, to findwork and our student loans are linked to infla-tion, so the loan company will add about 10%extra onto our debts this year. We’ll fight withthose trying to defend their homes from re-possession, stand alongside workers on picketlines and we’ll be on the streets again on the31st.”Rob Owen, of the NUS National Executive,was equally critical of the banks' handling of the current crisis.He said: “Students have had enough of onerule for the rich and another for the poor. TheBank of England gave billions of pounds of ourmoney to the rich but we won’t be made to payfor their crisis.”A spokesperson for the City of Londonpolice force reported: “This was a well-controlled demonstration.”

2 NEWS

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk

22nd October 2008

GLASGOW UNIVERSITY’S BELL TOWERwas once again the scene for the annual charityabseil, which was, this year, raising money forThe Beatson Pebble Appeal.The abseil, which took place on Sunday12th October, saw over one hundred volunteers,the majority of which were Glasgow Universitystudents, scale the 177 feet tall tower. A breezyautumnal day provided the participants withgood conditions in which to take the daringplunge while friends and family memberswatched below and staff from the GlasgowClimbing Centre supervised from above.Although an exact figure has not yet beenconfirmed, the total raised on the day alone hadalready surpassed all previous years. The eventorganiser, Susanne Hill, was delighted with theamount raised by all of the abseil participants.She said: “It’s been a huge success and thishas beaten all previous years already. On theday, a total of £26,000 was raised and there isstill more money to come in.”Now in its seventh year, the money raisedfrom this year’s abseil will go towards buildingthe Beatson Translational Research Centre,which will form part of one of Europe’s biggestcancer centres: the Glasgow Centre for CancerResearch. The building, which will be based inthe Garscube estate, will cost approximately£19.2 million in total and will be a GlasgowUniversity facility. Although the university hastaken a large role in the development of thecentre, it is doing so in conjunction with CancerResearch UK, the Beatson Institute and theGreater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board.Kirsty Craig, the University of Glasgow'sEvents and Medical Development Manager,was also in no doubt as to the success of theabseil.She told Guardian: “It’s looking really goodand people are being so generous. It makeseveryone’s efforts worthwhile.”As the person responsible for the overallfundraising campaign, which has the task of raising £10 million, she explained the work thatwill be done at the new centre.She said: “Its purpose will be to translatebasic scientific findings into treatment forpatients with cancer. It’s the link betweenresearch and treatment.”The Beatson Pebble Appeal estimates thatforty-one people die every day in Scotland asa result of cancer. As organiser of the abseil,Susanne Hill recognises the significance of Scotland‘s health problems in relation to thesuccess of the fundraising campaign.She said: “I think that people will supportit because, as it’s cancer, it’s close to manypeople's hearts.”Two such people are mother and daughter,Lilias and Ailsa Nichol, who took part inthe abseil after having lost family membersto cancer. The pair, both graduates of theUniversity of Glasgow, together raised almost£300. After her arrival back on solid ground,Lilias described how it felt to have completedthe abseil.She said: “I feel absolutely euphoric, youget such a high coming down. I was very, verynervous but the worst part was climbing thestairs to the top.”41-year-old Glasgow University graduate,Alan Kerr’s total of £6,500 was the most amountof money raised on the day. He explained that,when it comes to fundraising, it often helps if there is a nerve-wracking challenge involved.He told Guardian: “I wanted to raise moneyand people just won't give you any unless youoffer to do something thoroughly unpleasant.”Fourth year music student, Jenny Evans,raised over £300 along with fellow studentAmanda Gregor. When asked what made herdecide to take part, Jenny explained that she feltit was an opportunity worth taking.She said: “I just think that it should be done,and it’s one of those experiences that’s worthhaving.”The building of the Beatson TranslationalResearch Centre is due to start this time nextyear, and with around £6 million still to raise,the Beatson Pebble Appeal has some way togo to meet its financial target. However, KirstyCraig, who is responsible for fundraising, iscertain this target can be met.She told Guardian: “We are very confidentwe’ll get there.”

Abseil raises record amount

Ross Mathers

Leigh Anne MacDonald prepares to abseil the 177 feet of the Glasgow University Bell Tower, in aid of the Beatson Pebble Appeal (Photo: Jim Wilson)