Students at the University of East Anglia have spoken of their dismay over campus mental health services following the suspected suicide this week of a first-year scholar – the fourth to die suddenly there in less than a year.
Rising anger has been directed towards the Norwich university’s vice-chancellor, Prof David Richardson, whom students criticised for championing the institution’s investment in mental health support in the wake of the latest death.
Richardson said in a statement this week: “The death of a UEA student is something that affects our community deeply and, at this time, it is all the more important for both students and staff to look out for each other.”
He added: “In recent years we have invested in mental health and wellbeing services at UEA. This year an additional £250,000 is being invested in student support services to improve access to services.”
But the timing of Richardson’s comments prompted outrage from students, with many criticising the quality of mental health help on offer.
“I have no faith in my university what so ever when it comes to helping those who face mental health issues and struggles,” one student, Quenelle Forbes, wrote on Twitter. “UEA does hardly anything to support us as students.”
Forbes, 20, told HuffPost UK that messages from the university about increased investment in mental health and wellbeing sat awkwardly with offers for “pets with therapy” and long waiting lists for counselling.
A petition started by students calling on Richardson to improve mental health services gained 3,400 signatures in a day. “There are too few counsellors and ridiculous waiting times, sometimes over a month-long – which is unacceptable for students having a crisis,” it read.
Sophie Bunce, the editor of UEA’s student newspaper Concrete, told HuffPost UK that there were widespread concerns over the adequacy of campus mental health services there.
“There is a feeling, firstly of sadness, but this time it is anger as well. Students are really quite angry... and seem to feel like the services on campus aren’t adequate and there have been claims they are underfunded,” she said.
“The petition suggests that the university throws out robotic statements once something happens. There are students who feel things aren’t sufficient on campus. It is tricky for the university as they get criticised for a lot when there is work going on behind the scenes.”
The reasons why a person may choose to take their own life are often complicated and rarely attributed to a single cause, according to the Samaritans.
First-year creative writing student Theo Brennan Hulme was found in halls on Tuesday, while final-year film scholar Nick Sadler, 25, was found after an 11-day search on 19 February. Two other students, Jess Fairweather, 20, and Jonathan Walker, 23, died by suicide last year, inquests found. No connection between the deaths has been drawn.
UEA is far from alone in grappling with rising mental ill-health among students. HuffPost UK reported last week that top universities have seen a 76% increase in students accessing campus counselling services, on average over the past five years, as budgets increased by 71% over the same period.
Figures, obtained by this website through a freedom of information request, showed UEA saw a 166% increase in the numbers of students accessing mental health support since 2013, while its budgets for services increased by 25%.
The issue has prompted renewed focus from ministers, with the government announcing last week the creation of a new “taskforce” dedicated to helping bridge the gap between child and adolescent mental health support and the provision on university campuses.
Richardson told HuffPost UK in a statement: “At UEA we have recognised the significant increase in demand in wellbeing and mental health services and have been planning for additional investment.
“What we can do, what we must do, what we are focused on doing, is responding to give the students and staff in our community the support and assistance they need on a whole-institution basis. As a parent myself, I know how much anxiety and worry this causes for everyone.”
Richardson re-iterated the announcement of £250,000 in immediate additional funding for mental health and wellbeing services. He said the total spend by August this year will be £1.4m.
He added: “We are improving our services. We are investing more. But it’s not just about money. We will need a whole community response on these issues and I will be leading a [vice-chancellor] taskforce on mental health and well-being at UEA. We do need to look out for each other and support each other through this.”
Useful websites and helplines:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.