After a recent petition gained over 100,00 signatures, parents and students are calling for UK universities to improve their mental health support. After complaints vulnerable young people are not properly cared for, new legislation has been proposed.
The lack of support available to students in higher education has been criticised by parents. The survey stemmed from a petition which has more than 128,00 signatures and gained 1500 responses. This petition will be discussed in Parliament on Monday (June 5). The survey itself has been conducted by the Commons petition committee.
University Mental Health Support Isn’t Enough
This is the main message from responses from the survey. Responses reported that many students had to wait a whole academic year to receive support. Even then, they were supposedly only offered six counselling sessions as a means of help.
Students and parents took part in the survey, with the latter complaining about the lack of communication. Instead, they first heard about their children’s mental health issues when they were very advanced.
“We did not know anything was a problem until our son sent us a message indicating that he did not want to live,” one parent said.
Other parents accused universities of ignoring problems even when they were contacted about vulnerable students.
“No attempt was ever made to reach out to him,” they said after their son had a history of mental health issues and special education needs.
Now, the petition is calling for statuary duty of care from higher education providers.
Parents Believe Duty Of Care In HE Needs Improvement
The government believes that changing legislation would be “disproportionate.”
Already, higher education providers have a general duty of care. This means they cannot cause harm to students through their own actions, which they think is appropriate.
However, parents have said that there is more mental health support in apprenticeships and in the work environment.
“Duty of care exists in all areas of work and apprenticeships but not for vulnerable young adults,
“Lack of duty of care in higher education is a serious omission in the UK legislation that needs to be rectified. We need a level playing field. Students should have the same right to a duty of care as everyone else.”
In many situations, it has been personal tutors who have come to student’s aid. However, they often don’t have enough training or support themselves to deal with the situation correctly. Instead, specialists should be available at all institutions, with a 24-hour hotline proposed for struggling students.
Only 1 per cent of students who responded to the survey said their university was very supportive of mental health issues. Commenting on the problems, a student said that accessing any support is difficult.
“The systems for accessing mental health support are complex and not fit for purpose for those in crisis or suffering poor mental health.”
Speaking about the criticism, the president of Universities UK said universities’ “primary role is as settings for adult learning, not health care.”
“We do not believe the proposed additional statutory duty of care, beyond the existing duties that already apply to universities, would be practical, proportionate, or the best approach to supporting students.”
If you are affected by any issues raised in the article or would like someone to speak to, please call the Samaritans for free on 116 123. You can also email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch in the UK.