We move on to the next item, which is the short debate postponed from 9 November from Julie Morgan. I now call on Julie to speak on the topic she has chosen. Julie Morgan.

Thank you very much. Diolch. I’ve agreed that Jenny Rathbone should have a minute to speak.

I’m very pleased to have the opportunity of this short debate to voice some of the concerns and anxieties that have been brought to my attention about the consequences of the MEDIC Forward programme introduced by Cardiff University at the medical school, based at the University Hospital of Wales site in the Heath, in my constituency of Cardiff North. I’ve had many people come to me expressing a great deal of disquiet and concern.

I’m going to concentrate my remarks on the disinvestment in heart research, heart research that has been lost to Cardiff, in particular that carried out at the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute, which was set up largely thanks to the goodwill and generosity of the people of Wales, who felt passionately that Cardiff medical school, then the only one in Wales, should be at the heart of research into this killer disease that still steals so many lives.

Wales is particularly prone to cardiovascular disease, with both congenital and lifestyle factors among the prime causes. Cardiovascular disease, heart and circulatory, causes more than one in four of all deaths in Wales, or around 8,800 deaths each year. That’s an average of 24 people every day. This week, it emerged that dementia is now the No. 1 killer across England and Wales, but heart disease is still the leading cause of death for men. Wales still has a particular problem with heart disease, and this is despite the great strides that have been made in encouraging healthier lifestyles, as well as vast improvements in the treatment and the advances made via heart research.

The situation is improving. The total number of people living with coronary heart disease is dropping. The number of people dying each other is falling. People have more chance now of surviving a heart attack than ever before. In the 1960s, more than seven out of 10 heart attacks were fatal. Today, at least seven out of 10 people survive, and a lot of that is to do with heart research. So, things are getting better, but heart disease is still a major challenge and not an area one would have thought that Cardiff medical school would have chosen to disinvest in when reassessing its strategic future.

The disinvestment in areas of research that have clear benefit to the people of Wales indicates that the school of medicine has got its priorities seriously out of alignment with what is needed locally in Wales. And I would really like to know how much meaningful consultation there was with the Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board about the impact on NHS clinical services.

So, in 2014 the university launched the MEDIC Forward strategic review programme to transform itself for the future. That involved looking at all its research, including heart research, resulting in the decision to prioritise four new areas: population medicine, infection and immunity, psychological medicine and clinical neurosciences, and cancer and genetics. Heart research was not included in the four priorities.

The result was that 69 members of staff received letters saying their jobs were at risk, and I understand that that included all the staff at the heart institute. And it became clear that cardiovascular research was not one of the new priority areas, and it has since emerged that Professor Alan Williams, one of the leading lights of the British Heart Foundation’s research, and his team, would be relocated to Swansea. The university says:

‘The programme is the driving force behind our ambition to be a permanent fixture in the top 10 of the UK's medical schools; it will ensure that we achieve the highest standards of teaching and world-leading research.’

I do not challenge that. I’m not going to claim that there is going to be no heart research carried out at the medical school, but ‘heart research’ is a broad term. As part of the MEDIC Forward reorganisation, the medical school decided to concentrate all its heart research efforts on the prevention of coronary heart disease, which is a very big killer as we all know. And this included the establishment of the division of population medicine that will look into ways to prevent and reduce the occurrence of heart disease in our communities, and nobody could disagree with that priority. However, I understand there will be no laboratory-based research in the new population medicine division. This research will be rightly in the community. The problem is that the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute was set up in response to the need to do more heart research in Wales to respond to people with existing heart conditions, because of their large numbers in Wales, and bequests are still coming into the charity in his name for this purpose. This type of scientific heart research should surely be running in parallel with preventative work.

Fundraising took place in the 1990s by dedicated campaigners throughout Wales. As I was told by one of the researchers, it was the fabulous generosity of the public in Wales and the tireless fundraising of the trustees during the 1990s that resulted in the opening of the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute in 1999. And his family have told me of the mass of small events all over Wales, as people responded to this challenge. The campaign began in 1991 and it was championed by Wales’s most famous ever opera star, Sir Geraint Evans. The chairman of the appeal was D.H. Davies, who was a former leader of Dyfed council and had been a patient at UHW. Prince Charles was chancellor of Cardiff University and leant his support, and when Sir Geraint Evans died in 1992, the work was carried on by his widow, Lady Brenda Evans. The cardiologist Professor Andrew Henderson was also a driving force.

The British Heart Foundation donated £500,000 and the appeal raised the rest through charity events across Wales, gala concerts, individual efforts and bequests. The appeal started with a target of £2 million, but the final cost of the project was eventually £3.5 million. Readers of the ‘South Wales Echo’ raised £100,000 with it’s Have a Heart campaign, and I’ve got the ‘Echo’ appeal edition of summer 1997, and gold Welsh hearts were the symbol of the pledges people made. Many of my constituents made huge individual efforts to raise money for the appeal to fund the building: Whitchurch male voice choir raised £1,000, and to celebrate his seventieth birthday, Albert Gilbert of Rhiwbina asked for donations to the appeal, raising £425. This was typical of the generosity and small sacrifices made right across Wales to help make the Sir Geraint Evans building a world-leading heart research centre.

In fact, it was the first purpose-built dedicated cardiovascular research institute in the UK when it was officially opened in February in 1999. With purpose-built clinical examination rooms and physiological investigation suites, the institute provided an ideal place to carry out patient-based research. Scientists went on to study the causes and improved treatments for heart attack, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias and coronary artery inflammation. And in 2014 there was a breakthrough, when scientists discovered the cause of sudden cardiac death in young people.

So, it does seem absolutely extraordinary that, in planning these changes at the university, no account appeared to be taken of the specific public spirited way this Wales Heart Research Institute had been funded. There appears to be no attempt to communicate with the funders, with the family of Sir Geraint Evans about the planned changes. So many people involved have said to me how this building and money for the research was the gift of the people of Wales, and they are so concerned about its future, with some heart research already moved out and other researchers still to go.

Today, I was contacted by the Welsh Cardiovascular Society, which asked me to put on record that the loss of cardiac research in Cardiff has been met with dismay and anger by its members. They expressed deep concern with how the whole exercise has been carried out. Huw Evans, who is the son of Sir Geraint Evans, said:

‘If it is true what we have heard that cardiovascular research at the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute is being diluted, then it’s a disgrace that this is being allowed to happen. My father helped lead the appeal for the building of this centre of excellence in heart research, which was given by the people of Wales in perpetuity to the university by the generosity of the people of Wales. It would be very wrong indeed if the wishes of people who are still donating money specifically to the Sir Geraint Evans heart research institute were not being adhered to. We are extremely cross that there is now a possible question mark over exactly what and where the donated money is being spent. The family have not heard from the university regarding this, but if donations are given in good faith to the institute, it should stay there.’

As part of my preparation for this debate, as well as speaking to or being approached by people who are very distressed and concerned about these changes, I met with the pro vice-chancellor and acting head of the medical school to discuss these concerns. Their view was that they can’t invest in everything, and to be competitive, and to help Cardiff move up the medical school rankings, they had to choose the four specialisms I mentioned above, which does not include heart research.

I totally agree that preventative work is very, very important, and is absolutely essential, but heart disease is very varied, and there is a strong link between research and prevention and new treatments. I have been reassured that the building will not become an administrative centre, although privately I’ve been told that administrative staff have already moved in. I have been told it will continue to be a research centre, but sadly not a specific heart research centre, and, in fact, ‘heart’ was not mentioned at all. I think it is fair to say that the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute, which includes a portrait of Sir Geraint in the building, will no longer be operating in the way it was conceived, and for which the funds were raised.

My own view is that the building should remain dedicated to research directly related to the heart, but, of course, the building is already emptying. I am calling for the reinstatement of the aims of the original fund raisers. No-one doubts the need for a reassessment of priorities from time to time, and I think it’s absolutely right, obviously, that the medical school do this, and I do appreciate, of course, that all change causes upset. But I maintain that these changes were carried out in a cavalier, insensitive, inward-looking way, and, in the case of heart research, were misguided.

I am a great supporter of Cardiff University, and of its medical school, which I know generates a huge amount of money for the economy to begin with, and brings in £6 for every £1 spent. I did a postgraduate course myself at Cardiff University, and I’ve visited it on numerous occasions, and I believe the university brings so much to the city, and I will continue to champion it. However, I do believe these changes have been detrimental to the reputation of the university. I would like to see it put right, and I would like a reassurance that the Sir Geraint Evans Wales Heart Research Institute building will remain dedicated to heart research—the purpose for which it was set up—and that heart research will be restored to the medical school.

I do believe that these changes have not taken into account the huge fundraising efforts that were put into that building, and that it is a betrayal of all those people who donated that money. So, I hope that there will be some way of remedying this situation.

Whilst I recognise that Cardiff University must be free to choose which areas of research they should concentrate on, I fear that this decision to dismantle the Wales Heart Research Institute is a public relations disaster. Those who responded to the Have a Heart campaign had every right to assume that their modest contribution would be permanently strengthening and understanding an effective treatment of heart disease, which remains, as Julie Morgan has outlined, one of the primary causes of premature death in this country, if not the cause. I have many eminent cardiologists amongst my constituents, and I pay tribute to their work helping to save the lives of people struck down by heart disease.

I fear that the death of the WHRI may be a casualty of the research excellence framework, the process by which all universities’ research output is judged at the moment. This has led to the industrial production of research papers, many of them read by no-one, and of no value whatsoever in terms of the impact on human knowledge or measurable outcomes. This is something that we probably ought to come to in a much larger debate. Cardiff is not alone in this rating chasing, but I fear that this medic-forward exercise may have had the opposite effect.

I note that the British Heart Foundation briefing that was prepared for this debate talks about the drop in university ratings, as the attraction of students and clinical academics to Cardiff is reduced, and potential BHF-funded posts cannot be accepted because the university has decided not to support cardiology. I do not know whether it is possible to rectify this mistake, but it is certainly something that the Cardiff University leadership needs to consider.

Thank you. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport to reply to the debate—Vaughan Gething.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I thank my colleague for raising this matter in the Chamber, but also the contribution of Jenny Rathbone. You both made your own perspectives and points very clear about the decision taken by Cardiff University.

I think it’s important to start off by recognising the impact of heart disease. We’ve heard recently, and again reminded ourselves in the Chamber today, that dementia is now recognised as a bigger killer, but there’s still much more to do to improve outcomes for people with heart disease as well as preventing people from suffering heart disease in the first place. I’m grateful to Julie Morgan for highlighting the important impact that research has had on improving outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease.

In this particular instance, Members will of course know that the Welsh Government can’t direct the university to unpick the decision that they have taken, but of course the opportunity to have these debates is about much more than giving a message to the Government. But I do want to recognise the significant work already undertaken and that continues to be undertaken by the British Heart Foundation, and I am pleased to see that they’re continuing to invest in research in Wales with the imminent opening of a new research unit in Swansea University’s medical school. I know that the unit at Swansea will be operational early next year, and I look forward to hearing more from the university and the dean about the detail of the research that will continue there. I do want to congratulate Swansea University on developing their own capability in cardiovascular research, and I look forward to following their future success in this area.

The British Heart Foundation, of course, has been and continues to be a strong partner in a range of cross-funder initiatives such as the national prevention research initiative and the UKCRC Public Health Research Centres of Excellence. These initiatives have quite a significant investment in Welsh-led research. Now, through maintaining those partnerships, and through our investment and research delivery in health service settings, this Government will continue to support the efforts of the British Heart Foundation and their research partners to improve the diagnosis, treatment and health outcomes for people in Wales. Again, I want to recognise that a significant section of Julie Morgan’s contribution recognised the need to continue within this area.

From the Welsh Government’s point of view, we will continue to support heart research in a number of ways, and perhaps I can explain some of what we’re doing for the Chamber. We’ve recently appointed a Welsh speciality lead for cardiovascular disease, Dr Zaheer Yousef of Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board. Dr Yousef will work with Health and Care Research Wales to champion cardiovascular research in the NHS and to increase the number of heart disease trials open to patients across Wales. That’s a regular feature of demand from the public and a range of third-sector partners and champions. As the cardiovascular disease speciality lead, Dr Yousef will also receive funding to support the research development group activity and to identify further important research questions and seek the funding needed to answer them. So, again, there’s recognition that the research won’t stop in the Cardiff area with the decision that the Member raises.

Through the National Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, again recognised by Julie Morgan, we will also be funding a prescribing and dispensing data research development group that has a focus on cardiovascular and renal research questions. Through Health and Care Research Wales we will continue to provide opportunities for cardiovascular researchers through our open national peer-review funding schemes. We’re currently funding a number of projects with relevance to heart disease focused on lifestyle factors and better health outcomes.

Here of course, as a country, we have a rich history of using research evidence to improve people’s lives. For example, the work and influence of Archie Cochrane, and the creation of the Caerphilly heart disease cohort. The Caerphilly cohort is in fact the longest running study of its kind, inspiring more than 400 research papers and further study worldwide. The lessons we’ve learned from that group of people, that remarkable group of men who have given up lots of their data and interest about how they live their lives and the impact this has had on their health outcomes, has told us an awful lot more than just the cardiovascular element of health outcomes—the influencing factors that each of us can have on our own likely health outcomes in the future.

I do recognise the history that this particular unit in Cardiff has had, the significance in terms of public memory, and the attachment of a wide range of people to the centre. I do want to particularly, before I finish, recognise the contribution of a wide range of people in contributing to the research output that Julie Morgan highlights today. But we, as a Government, are keen to build on that history and to re-engage the population in research, which is why we established HealthWise Wales, which hopes to involve everyone in Wales in improving the health and well-being of the population. I’d encourage Members of this Chamber as well—you too can be involved as part of the public to sign up to that research initiative. There are lots of things we really can do and can improve upon in Wales as well. Heart disease will continue to be a significant area of interest and investment from this Government’s point of view, and we look forward to working with partners in our university sector, within the NHS, and the third sector too, and continue to improve outcomes and research output for people right across Wales. Again, I thank Julie Morgan for raising this topic and bringing it to the Chamber.

Thank you very much. That brings today’s proceedings to a close. Thank you.

The meeting ended at 18:05.