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partners with NHS to improve student mental health support

20 June 2019

is building a closer relationship with local mental health services to improve support for students, as part of a nationwide partnership bringing together universities and the NHS.

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The national project, funded by the Office for Students, involves seven universities, led by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), working with Universities UK, Student Minds, NHS Confederation Mental Health Network and NHS England.

and UWE Bristol are joined in the partnership by Imperial College London and the Universities of Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester.

The project will address an increasing need to better coordinate care and support between universities and the NHS, as well as investigating potential barriers to accessing support, how to ensure the provision of care from students’ local NHS support services is not disrupted by starting university, and developing a clinical risk assessment tool which can be rolled out across the UK.

Each university is collaborating with their local NHS trusts on the project. is working closely with Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, which provides the largest share of mental health services used by students, to integrate university services with primary care pathways, and improve links with secondary care providers. is also reviewing how students access mental health services at providers across London to ensure a streamlined care pathway for all students.

Supporting the Student Health and Wellbeing Strategy, ’s part of the project, the Steps Programme, is led by academics in Psychology & Language Sciences, in close collaboration with the Student Support and Wellbeing team.

The project will create regional partnerships across the UK, with leading the North London hub.The hubs will be connected through a national collaborative which will influence the long term plans for the NHS, ensuring that students’ needs are recognised.

will be co-leading the development of an evaluation framework for the project alongside the University of Sheffield, which will incorporate student views.

“At , we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our students and enabling them to access care as needed. This project will help us ensure that mental health support for our students makes optimal use of NHS resources and backed by the latest evidence,” said Professor Peter Fonagy, Head of Psychology & Language Sciences, who is leading the project at .

The proportion of full-time UK undergraduate students reporting mental health concerns when they enter higher education has more than doubled over the last five years. According to a recent poll, over 87 per cent of students said they struggle with feelings of anxiety, and one in three experienced a serious psychological issue which required professional help.

The funding from theOffice for Studentsis one part of a major collaborative programme to find innovative ways to combat a sharp rise in student mental health issues across the country and spark a step-change in student support nationwide. TheOffice for Studentshas awarded £6 million, with co-funding of £8.5 million, amounting to a total of £14.5 million investment across these 10 collaborative projects.

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Media contact

Chris Lane

tel: +44 20 7679 9222

E: chris.lane[at] ucl.ac.uk