There are many challenges for modern day HEI student services departments to overcome.   The purpose of the SWWHEP Student Services project is to help each of the 3 HEIs overcome these.  Some of these challenges are mentioned below:

A continuing reluctance to declare a mental health difficulty

The parameters and boundaries of support that HEIs can provide HEI’s are not and should not be seeking to provide psychiatric assessment, treatment or medication for students with mental health difficulties; this is appropriately the role of external NHS Mental Health Services. HEIs, where they are resourced to do so, are able to provide continuing therapeutic support through counselling and a co-ordinating role internally to share appropriate information with academic departments, develop and provide support services such as mentoring and essential liaison with external NHS Mental Health Services.

The role, actions and inaction of external NHS Mental Health Services

Due to resource constraints in the NHS, the Mental Health Support they provide tends towards the more acute and emergency cases. This leads to a position where there is a gap and a consequential tension between the boundary of the support provided by an HEI and the point at which external mental health services become actively involved.

Conflicting legal obligations

There are cases where a conflict arises between the disability related obligations to the student with mental health difficulties and the duty of care towards other students and the employers obligations towards its staff. This can become extremely difficult to reconcile in determining an appropriate course of action.

Staff support and Training

As indicated above the impact of a mental health episode is particularly felt by front line staff. In such situations they find it extremely difficult to understand and accept professional advice where it conflicts with their natural instincts to provide help which in all other incident cases would be the normal expectation of the institution. The need for such staff to be provided with staff training is therefore essential.