UPDATE (04/07/14)
"Dear colleagues
I’m writing to update you on the proposals to restructure the School of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences and the Institute of Psychiatry.
As you are aware, these changes are part of a long-term plan to rebalance finances across the College and allow us to achieve our ambitions as a world-class university in an environment where competition for students, staff and funding has never been greater. While it is always extremely difficult to lose any member of staff, we believe that we must reduce our academic salary costs to ensure a sustainable and successful future for the three Health Schools.
After a robust review process that gave particular attention to maintenance of our specialist teaching programmes and the related student experience, we are now able to confirm that the number of staff who remain provisionally at risk of redundancy is less than half the upper limit of 120 posts set out in the original proposal. We are not able to confirm the final number at risk until the end of the collective consultation period.
We do not believe this will have a disproportionate impact on our staff or our students as a result and will work to ensure that this is the case. We have equally sought to protect our research community as well as we can and to avoid any negative impact through the changes we have to make.
The Heads of Departments and Divisions are in contact with the individuals still provisionally at risk and are providing them with support and guidance on next steps. At the end of the collective consultation process it is our intention to hold individual meetings with the staff affected.
My colleagues and I appreciate the strength of feeling from staff and students concerning these changes which, whilst regrettable, are essential. I look forward to the opportunity to update you more fully on the outcome of the consultation at the forthcoming staff briefings, details of which we will confirm very soon.
Kind regards
Professor Sir Robert Lechler
Vice-Principal (Health)"