Stepchange: mentally healthy universities

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week, Universities UK has published a refreshed call for action and framework guidance document, Stepchange: mentally healthy universities. Gary Attle, UK education and research sector lead takes a look at the refreshed framework, commenting that a university needs to develop its institutional-wide approach in collaboration with relevant external health and care organisations.

Six principles for working with the NHS are set out:

• Establish strategic links between health and higher education to consider joint needs assessments, integrated services and improved data sharing.
• Include higher education population in healthcare system needs assessments and commissioning.
• Promote better understanding of student and staff needs.
• Encourage effective working between universities and the healthcare system, including primary care, emergency care, secondary care, specialised care and the voluntary sector.
• Improve data sharing through agreements.
• Consider hosting, co-hosting or co-commissioning services.

Supporting these principles, university health system partnerships are referenced in Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, North London and Bristol.

As a firm we have substantial experience in both the higher education and healthcare sectors and appreciate the importance of these issues from a range of perspectives.

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