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  5. Stepchange: mentally healthy universities

Working with the NHS

a university campus

Universities provide significant support for students and staff experiencing mental illness, but we cannot do this alone.  

Gaps in mental health care 

Students continue to find it difficult to access NHS mental health services.

They’re reporting gaps in care between the support provided by their university and NHS care, between support during term time and support at home and between children’s and adult mental health services.

Research published by Student Minds in January 2022 showed: 

52
%

of students were feeling isolated

64
%

of students said Covid-19 affected their mental health

Guidance and support 

By sharing what works, universities can improve NHS partnerships, and remove gaps in care for students. 

Principles for working with the NHS

  • Establish and sustain strategic links between higher education and health leadership to consider joint needs assessments, integrated services and improved data sharing.
  • Try to include higher education populations in healthcare system needs assessments and commissioning and to embed student and staff voices in the design and delivery of local services.
  • Promote a better understanding of student and staff needs and what university support services do to meet them, including wider support in accommodation or learning.
  • Encourage effective working relationships between university support services and different parts of the healthcare system, including primary care, emergency care, secondary and specialised care and third sector provision.
  • Improve data sharing through agreements and working relationships. Consider hosting, co-locating or  co-commissioning services

Case studies

The OfS-funded Student Mental Health Partnerships Project aimed to develop new models of partnership between universities and the NHS.

Our briefing on partnerships between the NHS and universities covers what was learned in the five case studies from the project. 

Read the briefing

Forum

We run an online forum for university staff to share learning and evidence on NHS partnerships to support student mental health. 

Find out more

Improving mental health in universities
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Stepchange: mentally healthy universities

  • About this framework
  • Why mental health should be a priority
  • Whole university approach
  • Enabling a whole university approach
  • Improving mental health in universities
  • Working with the NHS

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Related

12 July 2022 Publications
12 July 2022 Publications

NHS-university partnerships: working together for student mental health

Examples of NHS-university partnerships that are joining-up mental health care for students.

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