NUS UK has said they are ‘deeply concerned’ about a student ‘mental health crisis’ after Mind charity released a revealing report.
Yesterday, May 23, Mind released a report from which the charity is urging the government to invest more into children and young people’s mental health services.
Mind’s revealing report
Mind carried out its research, via a survey, with over 2,000 grandparents and 2,000 parents across England as part of its #FundtheHubs campaign and identified widespread support for a network of early mental health support hubs for young people in England.
The data revealed fewer than two in ten parents (15%) believe that the UK Government is doing enough to support young people’s mental health, with seven in ten(71%) saying that it is difficult for young people to get NHS mental health support.
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Half of the parents surveyed are now worried their child’s mental health is now worse than pre-pandemic, the report said.
It also showed only one in five grandparents (21%) think the government is doing enough to support young people’s mental health with three in four (75%) believing that the UK is facing a mental health crisis.
NUS is ‘Deeply Concerned’
Commenting on Mind’s report into concerns around young peoples’ mental health, NUS Vice-President for Higher Education Hillary Gyebi-Ababio shared she is ‘deeply concerned’ about the ‘mental health crisis’ facing young people’ and accused the Government of ‘failing a generation’.
She said: ‘I’m deeply concerned about the mental health crisis, which is getting worse for students and young people. We know from our research that the majority of students are burdened with anxiety, often feeling overlooked by those in power and unsupported when it comes to having their needs addressed. The Government is failing a generation.
‘Students have been campaigning for university welfare services to improve for many years now, and although we’ve seen additional funding for institutions as a result of our efforts, there is still so much progress to be made. Universities are not separate from wider society.
‘A commitment to fully funding the NHS is absolutely vital so that waiting lists and costs for mental health services, medication, GP letters and diagnosis tests cease to be a barrier for anyone.’
The NUS VP also backed Mind’s suggestion of ‘early support hubs’ saying: ‘They must also urgently commit to providing early support hubs which would prevent thousands from reaching crisis point, and remove the pressures of competition, financial barriers and discrimination from our education system so that these issues can be tackled at the root.’