Professor Steve West’s speech at our Mental health conference

Professor West emphasised the importance of looking at our entire university community – staff and students – and that promoting positive mental health needs to underpin everything a university does. However, he also stressed that improving mental health for all students and staff needs consistent support and a shared vision, from the government, the Office for Students, the NHS and universities.

Any effort to improve student and staff mental health, he says, must also acknowledge the impact of the pandemic. As restrictions have lifted and students have returned to a more normal life experience, students’ life satisfaction and wellbeing has improved – but there is still a gap between students and the wider public.

Going into more detail, he described some of the efforts we are currently making, including:

• Showing committed leadership to make sure mental health is a priority for universities.
• Continuing to support the development of effective NHS-university partnerships.
• Testing the ‘whole university approach’ set out in our Stepchange framework and the Student Minds Charter.
• Developing guidance on when and how universities should involve family and friends when students are at risk of suicide or serious self-harm.
• Working with a number of universities to explore the role of data and whole population mental health analytics to help identify students at risk.

Speaking candidly, Professor West also talked about how opening up and showing vulnerability as a leader, particularly about our wellbeing, can have a powerful impact. While describing a moment of feeling powerless in the face of the pandemic he said, ‘opening ourselves up like this isn’t easy but it can have a profound impact when we feel able to do it.’

You can read the full transcript [pdf] of Professor West's speech.