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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