“I can’t believe a service like this exists” Greater Manchester student mental health service huge success

A pilot Student Mental Health Service in Universities across Greater Manchester has been given the green light by the Department for Education to be rolled out across the country, following the success of the model in Greater Manchester.

Written by Bryony Porteous-Sebouhian

A hopeful step forward for the future of student mental health

Put into action in the regions five universities, the Greater Manchester Universities Student Mental Health service has been hailed a huge success. The pilot, which was a partnership between the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), NHS Greater Manchester, and all five universities provided assessments, support and treatment to students.

Students from the University of Bolton, University of Salford, University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal Northern College of Music could access the service through their place of education instead of attempting to seek mental health support through either primary or secondary care services through the local NHS trust.

The service looked to a ‘joined-up approach’, by working with existing university mental health services (such as University counselling and Wellbeing services), and other mental health services in the community (both voluntary and third sector organisations).

Preventing students from ‘slipping through the gaps’

This joined-up approach, professionals involved with the pilot service said, has ensured that students who might normally ‘slip through the gaps’ and who’s mental health might only be flagged once they’re in crisis, are identified earlier.

Dr Timothy Alnuamaani, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Greater Manchester University Student Mental Health Service Team has said:

“As students move into higher education, they may be embarking on independent living for the first time, moving to new cities and making new friends. They are often moving away from their usual support networks. They may also not be registered with a GP in the university area, or may move address frequently.”

Dr Alnuamaani explained how these factors make students particularly vulnerable when they develop mental health problems, and that they are also more likely to slip through the gaps.

About the pilot service, he said: “Our service has been successful in filling those gaps, and ensuring that students receive the right mental health support at the right time so they can go on to thrive.”

The ground-breaking service, was launched in September 2019, only five months before the country would face its most unprecedented period for mental health, the first national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout lockdowns the service stayed open and continued to offer both face-to-face appointments as well as online. Support and treatments such as group therapy was also able to continue online.

Since the launch, over 960 students have been supported by the service

The feedback from students on the service has been overwhelmingly positive, with 97% of students rating staff ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, another 97% rated the information given to them as good or excellent, and 98% rated the overall experience as good or excellent.

One anonymous student said:

“There is no doubt in my mind that the student mental health service has saved my life. When I started with the service, I felt completely lost and broken. It felt as if the service dropped out of the sky when I desperately needed it most. The staff were absolutely fantastic, I can't put it into words, but fantastic doesn't do them justice. To put a body back together is one thing, but a mind? That is far less textbook.

“I received nothing short of the support I needed, in the way I needed it, for as long as I needed it; right from being quite unwell, to being knee deep into recovery, all the way until I confidently felt I could hold my own.”

Simon Merrywest, who is the Director for the Student Experience at the University of Manchester spoke about the success of the pilot saying that it has “transformed” the support that is available to students in the region.

He also highlighted that the service is part of a wider team who are “crucially” working together to provide care plans for each student. Looking to it’s impact on local NHS services, he said that it has meant referrals have been simplified and that it has helped to secure “more timely access to the most appropriate support.”

The success of this pilot and the joined-up approach that it champions should stand as a great example of how joining up services across different arms of the available mental health support, could be vital in bringing down wait times, improving access and reducing the number of people who are unable to get the help they need.