York Student Think Tank

Consultation into Mental Health Services and Attitudes at

the University of York

June 2015

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Table of Contents 1 - Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 3

2 - Objective ............................................................................................................................................ 4

3 - Ethos .................................................................................................................................................. 4

4 - Who we are ........................................................................................................................................ 4

5 - Context ............................................................................................................................................... 5

6 - Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 7

7 - Limitations ......................................................................................................................................... 8

8 - Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 10

9 - Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 17

10 – Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 19

Appendix B: Survey Questions .............................................................................................................. 24

Appendix C: Consent Form for Focus Groups ....................................................................................... 27

Appendix D: Consent Form for Interviews ............................................................................................ 28

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1 - Executive Summary

- 59.94% of survey respondents felt they had suffered from a mental health problem

- 37% of survey respondents felt that the university does not do a good job at dealing

with mental health issues

- Over half of Nightline, The Student Support Hub, York Mind and Walk-in Centres

users felt they had not benefited from the service

- Around 75% of survey respondents felt that they knew the symptoms for depression,

OCD and anxiety but only 40% knew the symptoms for body dysmorphic disorder

- 101 responded to the question about which services they had used - 83 had used the

Open Door Team, 60 had used the University Health Centre and 22 had used

Nightline. Many had used multiple services.

- 30.79% of survey respondents had made use of university mental health services

- The majority of people surveyed or participating in focus groups believed that there

is a stigma attached to mental health

- Problems with waiting times for Open Door Team were revealed in our survey, with

31.1% (a majority) of respondents having to wait 2 weeks for appointments as well

as comments in the survey, focus groups and interviews

- 68.72% of survey respondents disagreed with the statement that they knew the

university’s mental health policies

- 35.09% of survey respondents disagreed with the statement that they would know

where to go if they needed help for their mental health issues during term time

- The problem of aftercare was brought out throughout the survey

- Many participants in our survey and focus groups felt that academic staff were not

able to support them sufficiently

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2 - Objective

This report aims to investigate student’s perceptions of mental health services on campus as

well as their perceptions of mental health more generally, and to includes a list of

recommendations following the results of these findings. We hope that University of York

bodies will be able to use this information to inform future actions and policies.

3 - Ethos

In line with the ethos of the York Student Think Tank (YSTT), this report has two core principles

as its guideline:

i. To follow the evidence wherever it may guide us.

ii. To suggest only those ideas which have a reasonable chance of success

4 - Who we are

This report was commissioned by the YSTT.

This consultation was carried out by a small team of University of York students, studying

various disciplines and from a range of backgrounds:

Team Leader: Hannah King

Team Members: James Humpish

Kris Kim

Maddy Tickell

Editor: Siobhan Lyons

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5 – Context

YSTT has previously run consultations on the accessibility of sports and gym equipment for

disabled students and the degree and nature of racial discrimination, as well as student

nutrition. Both reports focussed on the University of York, rather than a model of a national

consultation as YSTT had commissioned previous to 2013.The 2014 report on racial

discrimination received wide coverage in both student newspapers and the national press,

including the Guardian newspaper.1 This report aims to look at another aspect of student life

at the University.

The issue of mental health really came to the attention of the University of York in January

2013, the student newspaper Nouse reported that 2008-2013 saw the numbers of students

accessing University mental health facilities double after the Open Doors central system was

developed in 2009-10.2

In 2013 Nouse published an article discussing the ethics of mental health awareness

campaigns and in 2014 both student newspapers, Nouse and York Vision, reported on the

University’s involvement in World Mental Health Day.3 The success of the October 2014

World Mental Health Day has been debated on campus and in Nouse.4 These events,

combined with the wider context of national mental health services being scrutinised, led

YSTT to commission this report into mental health services at the University of York.

While this report was running, it was reported that two students from Vanbrugh College died

in February and the Nouse article referring to these events encouraged students to seek help

from both college and central welfare systems.5Further, as this report was being concluded,

an article in York Vision reported that one in nine students receives help from the University’s

counselling services, whereas the average across all universities in the UK is one in ten.6

This report does not investigate specific incidents such as World Mental Health Day or

individual students. We have instead tried to gather evidence from across the student and

staff body here at the University to evaluate existing college and central mental health

1 http://www.theguardian.com/education/abby-and-libby-blog/2014/mar/14/students-racism-on-campus-awareness-campaign 2 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2013/01/22/reports-of-mental-health-issues-double/ 3 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2013/10/06/human-zoo-betrays-a-skewed-vision-of-mental-health/, http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/features/world-mental-health-day-2014/09/10/2014/comment-page-1, http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/09/30/university-events-for-world-mental-health-day-announced/ 4 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/10/21/world-mental-health-day-receives-mixed-response/#comments 5 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2015/02/18/inquests-opened-into-the-deaths-of-two-york-students/ 6 http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/news/record-number-of-york-students-use-counselling/28/04/2015

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systems and also to look at levels of awareness and/or stigma attached to mental health

issues.

The University of York has around 15,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students.7 There

are two main categories of mental health services available to these students. Firstly, there

are the college welfare systems which include college tutors and students with positions in

the Junior Common Room Committees. Secondly, there are central services based on campus,

such as the Open Doors team and the charity Nightline.

The University’s college systems are currently being overhauled. By August 2015, all colleges

will be run by a Head of College and their Assistant Head, rather than the College Dean and

Provost as is currently the case in most colleges.8 According to Nouse, this overhaul aims to

extend welfare provision.

The University’s Strategy for Students, used since 2011, states that its objectives are to

“promote personal sustainability through health and fitness via inclusive policies on

wellbeing, high standards of operational delivery, sport and fitness programmes, and careful

attention to the physical and mental health of students.”9

The Strategy for Students also promises to promote general wellbeing and engagement. As

such, the University has a duty to provide adequate emotional support for students and it is

our aim to assess the existing success of this support and recommend ways it could be

enhanced.

7 http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/po/statistics.htm 8 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2014/11/25/students-to-pay-for-college-membership/ 9 https://www.york.ac.uk/about/mission-strategies/supporting-strategies/

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6 - Methodology

This reported collected quantitative and qualitative data from three sources:

Online Survey

An online survey containing 23 questions was hosted via SurveyMonkey. The survey

contained a mixture of tick box answers, quantitative questions and qualitative questions with

room to expand. The survey was aimed to reach all University of York Students through

sending the link to departments, colleges and YUSU. We are thankful for their assistance.

Professor Martin Smith was consulted to ensure the questions were correctly worded. Trends

were established from this data, which are recorded below. The sample size was 359.

Focus Groups

Three focus groups were conducted whose participants were all current students at the

University of York. Focus group sizes ranged from four to six, not all of whom had used the

university’s mental health facilities. These focus groups were directed by questions but it was

encouraged where possible for the participants to decide the direction of the discussion.

These sessions were recorded and later transcribed.

Interviews

Members of the team interviewed key figures from the University, YUSU and University

services with a special insight into the provision of mental health support at the university

and wider attitudes towards mental health at the university:

- Dr Oleg Lisagor, Halifax Provost

- Georgina Heath, Vanbrugh College Officer

- Dr Jane Clabour, Goodricke Provost

- Tony Ward, Alciun Provost

- Jenny Underhill, Derwent Dean

- Melanie Winyard, Nightline

- Anne Haversham, Open Door Team Manager

- Jelena Horvatic, President of the GSA

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(We contacted representative from each college welfare team however we were unable to

organise meetings with the other colleges: Wentworth, James, Constantine and Langwith)

In each interview a series of similar questions were asked but the interview was tailored to

the individual and the role they play in the provision of mental health support within the

university. We also allowed room for the individual to influence the direction of discussion.

Our interviews centred on four areas:

- The role of the college in welfare support

- The role of the Junior Common Room Committee

- Relations with external/ central services

- Student attitudes towards mental health

7 - Limitations

Online Survey

Questions that were intended to be answered by all participants were skipped on average by

19 people, whilst demographic questions were skipped on average by 30 people.

The survey was emailed to all departments and colleges, as well as being advertised in the

YUSU weekly newsletter, however it is not clear how many of these departments actually

forwarded the message on to their students, hence we cannot guarantee that it was received

by all students. Also no staff were directly sent the survey, which may have produced some

interesting results in their opinions towards the services and attitudes at York though

probably would have required a separate survey.

It was also brought to our attention that we should have provided an ‘other’ category in the

gender question, under demographics, which we recommended future consultations to

consider. There was also an unfair gender balance with the answering of the survey, with 76%

of respondents being female.

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Focus Groups

We held three focus groups, although more would have been desirable, however as this is a

sensitive subject matter there were not as many participants as other topics may have

attracted. We had a concern with the number of students who turned up, as all but one

session had people drop out without informing us. We assume this is also due to the

sensitivity of the matter being discussed.

The balance between students that did and did not suffer from mental health was not as equal

as we would have liked, with the former being in the majority.

We sent emails concerning the focus groups in the same fashion as the survey, and hence

they do contain the same limitations.

Interviews

When interviewing members of staff from the University, some discussed broader issues

surrounding the provision of mental health, rather than specifics. This may have been due to

the fact that the interviews were largely recorded. However these interviews were useful in

providing wider context and often detailed information concerning the provision of mental

health support at the University.

Also, as mentioned previously we were unable to talk to representatives from four of the

colleges; Wentworth, Constantine, James and Langwith. There was also the issue that due to

current changes being undertaken by both colleges and the Open Door Team, there were

certain topics which neither party felt they could not discuss.

Freedom of Information Request

We also submitted a Freedom of Information Request (found under Appendix 1) asking for

data relating to mental health in the university as well as information concerning mental

health policies at the university. Unfortunately this request was denied, (found under

Appendix 1) due to it being above the amount of time required for a Freedom of Information

Request. Therefore we have been unable to provide exact statistics in our report.

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8 - Findings

A. Survey Demographics

The key facts about the demographics of survey respondents are listed below.

- There were 359 responses to our survey.

- Around 30-35 skipped each question that asked for demographic information.

- 76% of all respondents were female and 24% were male. 29 people skipped this

question.

- Students from 37 different departments responded. The most represented

departments were History (with 31 respondents), Maths (with 30 respondents) and

Psychology (with 28 respondents). Some departments were underrepresented

(excluding joint honours, which 12 of our respondents specified), for example there

were no respondents from the Hull York Medical School, and only 4 respondents from

History of Art and Music. 39 respondents skipped this question while 1 respondent

said the question was not applicable and 1 would rather not specify their course.

- 85% of the surveys were completed by Undergraduates and 15% by Postgraduates,

with 36 respondents leaving this question unanswered, perhaps because a number of

staff responded.

- The majority of our respondents (44%) said they were in their first year and second

years were also well represented, making up 22% of respondents. The proportion of

third years was smaller at 17% of the total. Only 12 fourth years, 1 fifth year and 1

sixth year responded.

- All colleges responded. James, Halifax and Derwent were most represented with 19%,

16% and 16% respectively. The lowest response was from Constantine with only 16

people taking the survey; 5% of the total.

- 63% of respondents lived on campus. 33 skipped this question.

- 33 didn’t give their nationality. 87% of those who did identified as UK students, 6% as

UE and 7% as Non-EU students.

- For 91% of respondents, English was their first language.

B. Prevalence

Of the 359 students surveyed, 205 felt that they had suffered from a mental health problem,

while 105 had used the university mental health services available on campus. The most

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popular service used on campus was the Open Door Team, 83 people out of 101 that

responded to the question on which services they had used. 60 out of 101 had used the

University Health Centre and 22 had used Nightline.

Question 10 – Which of these services have you used

Anne Haversham, manager of the Open Door Team, said in her interview that the number of

students suffering from mental health is growing, particularly with anxiety and depression.

Last academic year the number of students who used the Open Door Team was 7669. By

contrast, the first two years of operation (the service was opened in 2007) saw just over 1000

students using the service, in 2009-10 this had risen to 3000.

C. Knowledge of Services Offered

From the sample, the service most heard about was Nightline at 88.6%. University Health

Centre and Open Door Team were also well known about, at 76.32% and 72.51% respectively.

Other services students mentioned were GPs/ NHS, college welfare team and other outside

support services such as the Samaritans.

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Melanie Winyard, from Nightline, felt that the university was not doing enough to raise

awareness among students of the service, Nightline. She also felt that the main thing that the

service needed to improve upon was publicising themselves.

D. Opinions on Services

The following issues, appeared as the most prevalent in opinions on services according to

our analysis of the online survey, focus groups and interviews together:

Waiting Times

Question 13 asked participants who have used the mental health services on campus

several questions about the individual services, one of which related to waiting times. A

majority of students (31.11%) saw the Open Door within 2 weeks, 2 weeks was also the

mode wait time for the University Health Centre (at 33.85%). Nightline had the best result

with most students being seen within 24 hours (51.52%) however this is probably due to the

nature of the service. It is worth noting that there was an N/A section to this survey which

affects our statistics.

Respondents to Question 2, which asked for comments concerning the provision of mental

health services at the university, also made comments concerning waiting times. One

comment relating to the Open Door Team was that “the fact that you must wait so long in

order to get an appointment is ridiculous”. Another respondent commented that “The open

door service is very hard to get an appointment, and they try and end your appointment as

soon as possible.”

In Focus Group 1, 2 participants said they did not feel there was any problem with

appointment times from the Open Door Team. It was however revealed by participant A in

Focus Group 3 that it was easier to get an appointment in Winter, than during summer and

the exam season.

The Open Door Team said they were aware of the problems with waiting times with the

average wait now being seven days. They recognised that it was not ideal that some

students were waiting up to three weeks for an appointment, which can be the case at

certain points in the year. They attributed this to a lack of resources at the university and

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33% of students not attending their initial appointment. They said that they can either carry

on how they are or they can offer less to more people.

Confusion

There was also considerable confusion concerning where one was supposed to go for mental

health concerns. 68.72% of participants disagreed to some or to a strong extent that they

knew the university’s mental health policies. 35.09% of students disagreed to some or to a

strong extent that they would know where to go if they need help for their mental health

issues during term time, 8.77% were unsure and 56.41% did feel they knew where to go. One

comment from our survey was “I wouldn’t know where to go at uni for help if I was suffering

from a mental health disorder.”

Interviews with college staff revealed that there was some interaction between Open Doors

and the colleges. Halifax and Alcuin have an Open Door practitioner in College meetings who

then relays information back to Open Doors. All colleges stressed the importance of

confidentiality and the need for the student to be aware of this.

Participant D from Focus Group 3 felt it was difficult to know where to go if you suffered

from a mental health difficulty.

Aftercare

There was also significant concern relating to the aftercare for mental health issues, after

being seen by one of the avenues available at the university. This was specifically highlighted

in the survey, in relation to academic support, one comment (from Question 2) was that “If

you apply for Mitigating Circumstances, then you are made to feel like a liar and a cheat.”

Another comment was that “I am appalled at how the university deals with students who

have taken an academic leave by not giving them access to treatment such as therapists that

a student no on leave could take advantage of.”

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Academic Staff

The last concern to arise from our study was that academic staff were not prepared to help

with mental health concerns, as shown by a comment on Question 2 of our survey; “I think

academic staff need to take more of a responsibility for the mental health of their students.”

Question 1 also revealed that 56.7% of respondents disagreed to some or a large extent that

they would feel comfortable to talk to academic staff if they were suffering from a mental

health problem.

Focus Group 1, however, had a generally positive consensus towards academic staff and their

dealing with mental health. Focus Group 3, participant B however felt that supervisor

meetings were more for academic issues rather than issues relating to mental health.

E. Attitudes towards mental health

52% of respondents disagreed to some or a large extent with the way that mental health

problems are discussed in the public domain, with 33.4% being unsure. 37% of participants

disagreed with the following statement ‘I think the university does a good job at dealing with

mental health issues,’ 44.6% neither agreed nor disagreed and 18.4% agreed. One participant

in the survey commented that ‘There needs to be change in what is deemed acceptable

behaviour or comment’ in regard to mental health illnesses.

Alcuin and Halifax representatives both said that student expectations of the services on offer

are too high and as a result dissatisfaction with the services is high. It was pointed out by both

of these colleges that individuals find it hard to both recognise the need for help and then to

access it, meaning that there is a lot of pressure on flatmates.

Vanbrugh College said that around 70% of issues for students involve them not knowing how

to solve a particular problem, not necessarily a mental illness.

Focus Group 1 seemed to have a consensus that there is a taboo surrounding mental health

and the idea that one should be able to snap out of mental health illnesses. However

participant B felt that mental health attitudes was better at York than in the media. Focus

Group 3 had a consensus that there is little understanding of mental health and often

sufferers will apply a stigma to themselves.

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F. Role of the College

The colleges told us that their main role is to signpost students to other services and provide

general support and information. Derwent College stated that the visibility of the resident

welfare team is important in promoting general wellbeing and security. Halifax College

estimated that 20-30% of office time for both academic and administration staff in the

College is spent on mental health case work and Vanbrugh estimates that their figure is

around 20%. Vanbrugh College also suggested that this was around 90% of College time last

year and the number fluctuates depending on the needs of the student population, for

example there were 87 open cases in Vanbrugh College at the time of the interview

(28/01/2015).

There was a general consensus that welfare teams are reactionary and involved in managing

situations that are brought to their attention, rather than pro-active. Vanbrugh said that it is

not appropriate for college teams to be given mental health training and Halifax stated that

awareness of mental health is not essential in college tutor applications.Halifax organises a

mental health first aid course for students but not for staff.

There is a restructuring of colleges aimed to be ready next academic year that will change the

title and position of some of the college welfare staff. Alcuin College indicated that this change

was meant to give more resources and emphasis to colleges.

The survey revealed (Question 6) that people were signposted to other mental health services

through their college tutors, which is the role that the college representatives saw as their

main role, which is encouraging.

The interviews with college representatives from the welfare team also discussed the role of

the Junior Common Room Committee in the provision of mental health support. On the JCRCs

there are two students with the role of “Welfare Rep”. Goodricke College told us that

incoming students misunderstand the role of these Reps and that students expect them to

offer guidance, whereas their real focus is on running general campaigns about general

wellbeing, for example Derwent College runs free yoga sessions and Goodricke free jacket

potato lunches. Both Alcuin and Vanbrugh Colleges suggested that Welfare Reps should lead

campaigning and awareness initiatives about general community wellbeing, not mental

health in particular. Welfare Reps receive one day’s training from YUSU.

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However Focus Group 3, participant B said they were unaware that there was a college

welfare system.

Melaine Winyard (from Nightline) felt that it varied between the colleges and JCRCs if they

signposted towards Nightline, but she said there was an increased attempt to give more

posters and such like to JCRCs during Spring Term. She also felt that signposting within

colleges so people knew where to go was an important improvement that should be made.

G. Role of the Open Door Team

An interview conducted with the Open Door Team explained their aims for the role they

believe they hold. There is the equivalent of 6.1 full-time staff available, all fully-trained in

mental health management. The aim of the Open Door Team is to relieve pressure in the

higher education system as well as in the NHS. The Open Door team begins with an initial

assessment to assess if a student is fit to study and everything is hence orientated to ensure

a student can perform to their full potential.

The Open Door Team will refer more moderate cases back to the college welfare team with

each practitioner being associated with at least one college. The extent of how busy the

Open Door team is varies with each term, for instance autumn term has a higher frequency

of cases relating to leaving home, spring term for depression, anxiety and relationship

problems and summer term being the busiest of all the terms due to exams.

They felt that changes that needed to be undertaken are in education and increasing our

understanding of mental health issues. They said it was difficult to know where students

wanted their tuition fees to be directed and that there are many students to be covered but

there is little flexibility in terms of finance or time. But the interview concluded with the

statement that the university will fall over itself to help a student if they are in trouble.

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9 - Recommendations

Increased education

From our survey, interviews and focus groups it seems clear that there needs to be an

improvement in the way that students are educated on mental health, both to improve

attitudes and awareness of services available at the University of York. Our suggestions

include compulsory talks during Fresher’s Week, like those carried out for fire and security,

to teach students where to go and how to access the help they need as well as how to keep

themselves mentally health during their time at university.

The report suspects that males particularly struggle to discuss the topic (76% of respondents

were female) so a talk that everyone must attend may fix this. This should also help to tackle

the stigma which many respondents felt there still existed at the university. Such talks, and

future campaigns, also need to ensure people are aware of the difference between mental

health and everyday stress, and which services to access for which issue. We found that the

posters offered by colleges which contain contact information for the college welfare system

were a good system and should be continued throughout all colleges, but that this poster

should also ensure it contains contact numbers for other services.

Discussions surrounding mental health also need to concentrate more on what to do if friend

is suffering, including how to support them and prevent any harm coming to you or your

friend. This issue was brought out in the college representative interviews, focus groups and

survey.

We would also recommend the continuation of the Mental Health First Aid course offered at

Halifax College, and for this to be extended to a wider audience of students as well as staff,

particularly porters.

Open Door Team Recommendations

We recommend a more comprehensive website for the Open Door Team so that students

know what the service is for. This in turn should help with reduced waiting times for

appointments.

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More Centralized System

The provision of mental health support at the university needs to be made more visually

apparent, with clearer indications of the correct channels for dealing with particular issues.

This could partially be tackled by the compulsory talks we recommended at the beginning of

this section, but also with increased advertising and cohesion between the different services

available i.e. between college welfare teams and central services.

Pop-up safe place on campus

During an interview with GSA President, Jelena Horvatic, it was suggested there should be a

pop-up safe place at the university, where students can go to talk to professionals or just to

sit and have a quiet place to go, this report also makes the same recommendation.

Complaint Mechanism

Focus Group 3 revealed that there was no feedback mechanism for Open Door Team, and we

feel that a feedback mechanism for all services would allow the university to make

improvements on a regular basis to improve provision of mental health care at the University

of York.

Supervisor Training

During this research, as has been discussed previously, a significant number of students felt

that academic staff, particularly supervisors, did not know how to respond to their mental

health needs and thus we recommend training for supervisors and key academic staff so they

know how to signpost students more successfully, not for them to become mental health care

professionals.

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10 – Appendices

Appendix A: Freedom of Information Act Request and Response

Flat 1

Block E1

Constantine College

Kimberlow Lane

York

YO10 5FP

Dear Whom it May Concern,

My name is Hannah King, a second year history student. Myself and a group of other

students are conducting a consultation on Mental Health at the University of York for the

York Student Think Tank.

We would like to include university wide statistics in our research. We are therefore

submitting this Freedom of Information Request for the following data in paper format.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I seek the following information about:

- The number of mitigating circumstance requests in each of the last 10 years, split into

those caused by physical illness or mental illness – years to be given individually. If you only

have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data

on the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we

would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one as possible.

- The number of students suffering from mental health illnesses in each of the last 10 years

including data on their gender, age and type of mental disorder. If you only have data

available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the

longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we would like

receive a breakdown closest to an annual one possible.

20

- Policies, past and present, relating to mental health in each of the past 10 years. If you only

have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data

on the longest time period possible.

- Annual budget for mental health in each of the last 10 years and how it is allocated

proportionally amongst services. If you only have data available for a period shorter than

the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the longest time period possible.

The information should be sent electronically (e.g Excel, Word, or PDF documents). If the

decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in the Data Protection Act,

please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used.

Please release the data as soon as possible. We do not require all points to be dealt with all

at once. If information for any of the four separate points is ready sooner than the others,

we would like to receive that information as soon as possible.

If you need any clarification then please do not hesitate to contact me. Under Section 16 it is

your duty to provide advice and assistance and so I would expect you to contact me if you

find this request unmanageable in anyway via this email.

I would be grateful if you could confirm by email (hrk505@york.ac.uk) that you have

received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you within the 20-working day

statutory time period.

Yours Sincerely,

Hannah King

BORTHWICK INSTITUTE FOR ARCHIVES

University of York

Heslington

21

York YO10 5DD

University Records Manager

Dr Charles Fonge

Direct line: +44 (0)1904 321168

Email: charles.fonge@york.ac.uk

www.york.ac.uk/records-management

Ms Hannah King

Sent via email to [hrk505@york.ac.uk]

1 April 2015

Dear Hannah King,

Thank you for your information request dated 24 February 2015 concerning statistics on

student welfare and mental health. Your request has been handled under the Freedom of

Information Act 2000. Please accept my apologies for the lateness of this response.

I can provide the following information in response to your questions.

1. The number of mitigating circumstance requests in each of the last 10 years, split into

those caused by physical illness or mental illness – years to be given individually. If you

only have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to

receive data on the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual

years, we would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one as possible.

2. The number of students suffering from mental health illnesses in each of the last 10

years including data on their gender, age and type of mental disorder. If you only have

data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on

the longest time period possible. If you cannot give numbers for individual years, we

would like receive a breakdown closest to an annual one possible.

22

The University does not hold these statistics centrally. Prior to October 2010 each

department had its own procedure for handling mitigating circumstances’ claims. The

current mitigating circumstances policy came into use after this date and some information

would be held within the records of the committees as part of the documentation/evidence

submitted with claims. However, to identify what information is held, and to locate, extract

and collate this across all departments and records, would exceed the appropriate costs

limit under section 12(1) of the Freedom of information Act 2000.

There were over 3,250 mitigating circumstances’ claims in the academic year 2013/14. It is

conservatively estimated that even if it only took 5 minutes per claim to search, locate and

retrieve information, the task would involve more than 540 person hours (far in excess of

the 18 hours represented by the Act’s costs limit).

We have considered other possible sources of information. Registry Services hold some

information on the grades awarded when mitigating circumstances are accepted and

applied but have no record of 'requests', nor any record of the reason for the request in the

student record and thus are unable to furnish an analysis of which were physical or mental

health claims. There will be individual records for those students who have individual

examination arrangements on the grounds of disability (some of which may be on the

grounds of ongoing mental health problems such as anxiety). The student and case files

containing such information would, however, also need to be interrogated individually.

Moreover, the data would not address the above questions as it would not be complete nor

be representative of the whole student population and those who may have 'mental health

illnesses' or 'mental disorders'.

The Open Door Team (ODT), which is part of Student Support Services and is available to any

registered student experiencing psychological or mental health difficulties, can provide

letters of support in relation to mitigating circumstances procedures but these are issued

only on compassionate grounds (meaning the student may or may not have a mental

illness). Medical grounds require a letter from a General Practitioner, consultant etc. ODT

does hold statistics on the number of students using its services, and these figures with

further information on its work, can be found in its Annual Reports. The reports are

published and accessible online at http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-

admin/student-support-services/policies-and-reports/annualreports/.

It is consequently estimated that compliance with your request would exceed the

appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the Freedom of information Act 2000. The

‘appropriate limit’ is currently £450 for universities, as defined by the Freedom of

23

Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This letter

accordingly acts as a refusal notice in respect of the information sought.

3. Policies, past and present, relating to mental health in each of the past 10 years. If you

only have data available for a period shorter than the last 10 years, we would like to

receive data on the longest time period possible.

Current policies are available on the University’s website at www.york.ac.uk. Past versions

of the website have been archived by the Wayback Machine and can be consulted at

http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.york.ac.uk.

4. Annual budget for mental health in each of the last 10 years and how it is allocated

proportionally amongst services. If you only have data available for a period shorter than

the last 10 years, we would like to receive data on the longest time period possible.

Budgets for the Open Door Team (formerly known as the Counselling Service) 2007/8 to

present:

2007/8

2008/9

2009/1

0

2010/1

1

2011/1

2

2012/1

3

2013/1

4

2014/1

5

£200,60 £288,92 £257,81 £265,97 £206,78 £256,59 £273,83 £289,94

Notes:

Figures provided are budgets (i.e. not actual spend) for the Open Door Team for the last eight financial years (including the current one).

No figures are available before this.

The University’s financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July.

There is no separate mental health budget that cuts across services in the manner implied by the question. The Open Door Team is the main point of support for students experiencing psychological or mental health difficulties, although support is also provided by the University through Disability Services, colleges, academic departments, etc.

This completes your request. In accordance with the provisions of section 17(4) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in respect of the information withheld under section 12(1) above.

24

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted in writing to the Records Manager at foi@york.ac.uk or the address above, detailing your grounds for appeal/complaint. A full copy of our review procedure can be found at http://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/foi/foi-policy/foi-complaints/. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. If you have any queries about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely, Charles Fonge University Records Manager and Archivist

Appendix B: Survey Questions

1. To what extent do you agree with these statements? If I suffered from a mental

health problem, I would feel comfortable talking about it with my peers/ If I suffered

from a mental health problem, I would feel comfortable talking about it with my

family/ If I suffered from a mental health problem, I would feel comfortable talking

about it with academic staff/ If I suffered from a mental health problem, I would

keep it quiet/ Mental health issues are being given enough attention in the public

debate/ I know the symptoms of depression/ I know the symptoms of anxiety and

panic attacks/ I know the symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder/ I know the

symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)/ If people near me suffered from

a mental health problem I would know how to help them/ If people near me

suffered from a mental health problem I would be less inclined to hang out with

them/ I agree with the way mental health problems are discussed in the public

domain (Pick one option from: Definitely Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neither Agree or

Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Definitely Disagree)

2. Any comments concerning the above?

3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements? The university

environment makes people more conducive to mental health issues/ During term

time, I would know where to go if I needed help for my mental health issues/ I know

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about our university's mental health policies/ I think the university does a good job

at dealing with mental health issues (Pick one option from: Definitely Agree,

Somewhat Agree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Definitely

Disagree)

4. How large do you think the percentage of students at the university suffering from

mental health issues is? Less than 10%/ 10-20%/ 20-30%/ 30-40%/ 40-50%/ 50-60%/

60-70%/ 70-80%/ 80-90%/ Over 90%/ Don’t Know

5. Which of these mental health services have you heard of? Open Door Team/

University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/

Nightline/ Others (please specify)

6. For each of those services which you ticked above, how did you find out about

them?

7. Do you suffer, or have you ever suffered, from a mental health problem? Yes/ No

8. Have you ever used any of the university mental health services? Yes/ No

9. Do you have any further comments to make?

10. Which of these services have you used? Open Door Team/ University Health Center/

Walk In Center/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Prefer Not to Say/ Other (please specify)

11. Why did you use the service(s) that you did?

12. Is there a reason you did not make use of any of these services?

13. Please answer these questions for the services you have used (select N/A for those

you have not)

a. Are you still using this service/ planning on using it in the future? Open Door

Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York

Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Yes, No, N/A)

b. How long was the waiting time before you could access the service? Open

Door Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/

York Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Within 24 hours, Within

48 hours, Within 1 week, Within 2 weeks, Within 3 weeks, Within 1 month,

Over a Month, N/A)

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c. How easy to find was the location you needed to access the service (not

applicable for nightline)? Open Door Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In

Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option

from: Very Easy, Fairly Easy, Neither Easy of Hard, Fairly Hard, Very Hard)

d. How comfortable/ safe did you feel when using this service? Open Door

Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York

Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options,

N/A)

e. Did you feel you were taken seriously? Open Door Team/ University Health

Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/ Other

(Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options, N/A)

f. To what extent do you feel you benefited from using this service? Open Door

Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York

Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: Very, Fairly, Neither Options)

g. How many times did you use this service? Open Door Team/ University

Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/

Other (Pick one option from: Once, Twice, Three Times, Four Times, Five

Times, Five to Ten Times, Over Ten Times, N/A)

h. What was your frequency of use of this service? Open Door Team/ University

Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York Mind/ Nightline/

Other (Pick one option from: Once a week or more often, Once a fortnight,

Once a month, Less frequent than once a month, N/A)

i. Overall, how would you rate the service? (1 being highest rating) Open Door

Team/ University Health Center/ Walk In Center/ Student Support Hub/ York

Mind/ Nightline/ Other (Pick one option from: 1,2,3,4,5, N/A)

14. What is your age? 18 to 24/ 25 to 34/ 35 to 44/ 45 to 54/ 55 to 64/ 65 to 74/ 75 or

older

15. What is your gender? Female/ Male

16. Which department do you study in?

17. Are you a Postgraduate or Undergraduate? Postgraduate/ Undergraduate

18. What year of study are you in?

19. Which college are you a member of? Alcuin/ Constantine/ Derwent/ Goodricke/

Halifax/ James/ Langwith/ Vanbrugh/ Wentworth

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20. Did you live on or off campus? On Campus/ Off Campus

21. Nationality UK/ EU/ Non-EU

22. Is English your first language? Yes/ No

Appendix C: Consent Form for Focus Groups

Confidentiality Assurance and Consent Agreement

In order to further the research of this investigation into mental health at the University of

York, I hereby declare that I give consent for my ideas, expertise and knowledge to be used

by the research team.

I understand that:

A) The interview will be recorded on a tape machine (or a similar recording device)

and will be subsequently transcribed by the interviewer.

B) Original transcripts and recordings of the interview will be seen and heard only

by the research team.

C) Transcripts (and / or) quotations given may be used in our final report and in

associated publications, but only after they have been made thoroughly

anonymous.

D) The final report will be available to other researchers in the future.

With a clear understanding of the terms laid out above, I …………………………………………

give my consent to be interviewed.

Participant’s signature ……………………………………. Date ………………………………………

Researcher’s signature…………………………………….. Date. ……………………………………...

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Appendix D: Consent Form for Interviews York Student Think Tank

Interview Informed Consent Form

The York Student Think Tank is a student society which create policy discussion, policy

papers, consultations and research papers.

Information & Purpose:

The interview you are being asked to take part forms one part of a wider research project

into regional identity, devolution and political engagement. The purpose of this research is

to gain an understanding into attitudes towards mental health and mental health support

services at the University of York.

Your Participation:

Your participation in this study will consist of an interview which will last approximately 30

minutes . You will be asked a number of questions on the services at the University. You

may pass on any questions which you feel uncomfortable answering. At any time you can

notify the researcher that you would like to stop interview and your participation in the

study. There is no penalty for discontinuing participation.

Benefits and risks:

The benefit of participating in this study will consist of your contribution to the research

project. There are no risks to participating in this study.

Your Confidentiality:

The interview will be tape recorded; however, your name will not be recorded on the tape.

It is up to you if you want to be made anonymous or not in the report, please indicate your

preference here:

Would like to remain anonymous

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Happy to be named in the report

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the researcher Hannah King.

By signing below I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above information. I am

aware that I can discontinue my participation in the study at any time.

Name (PRINT)_____________________________________ Date _______________

Signature _________________________________________