Recurring concern

Insufficient student mental-health support capacity

First to latest report 14 Dec 2015 — 1 Mar 2019

Reports that mention this concern
2
Times this concern has been raised
2
Stated actions linked to this concern
4

What this concern includes

Includes recurring deficiencies in the capacity, staffing, resources, availability or continuity of student-focused mental-health intervention, counselling and wellbeing services where these limit timely support for students in distress or with longer-term mental-health needs.

What is not included
  • Excludes general mental-health service-capacity concerns without a student-focused setting or beneficiary qualifier.
  • Excludes failures in the quality of assessment, treatment or communication after adequate student mental-health support capacity is available.
  • Excludes generic university staffing, funding or pastoral-support deficiencies unless they directly limit student mental-health intervention, counselling or wellbeing-service capacity.
  • Excludes isolated delays or individual missed interventions where no continuing capacity deficiency is asserted.

Reports and published responses 2 reports

See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response

  1. South Wales Central

    AI-generated summary

    Jack Liam May · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Jack May, a 20-year-old nursing student with a longstanding history of mental health problems, died in the River Taff on 25 October 2018; the inquest concluded that his death was suicide. The report raised concerns about the adequacy and accessibility of Cardiff University’s emergency, counselling, wellbeing and pastoral support services for students experiencing mental health or other personal difficulties.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Inadequate provision of counselling and wellbeing services for students

    Wider context from the report

    “(1) Provision of sufficient services within Cardiff University to provide emergency help and support for students. Evidence suggested that there may be inadequate provision of counselling and wellbeing services, with long waits being experienced by attendees, also that after 4 appointments, students must reapply. This presents obvious difficulties for students with longer term needs; ”

    Source location

    Jack Liam May · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 1 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Invest in and develop the Centre for Student Life as a future home for Student Support Services.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “2.1 The University has sought to take a lead nationally in debates around student mental health and the development of innovative approaches to supporting students. Our Director of Student Support and Wellbeing, ████████, was a member of the Universities UK Mental Health in HE Group which oversaw the initial development of the Universities UK’s Stepchange¹ strategic approach to mental health. Working with Student Minds UK, the University of the West of England, the University of York and Universities UK, the University is a pilot site for the Stepchange framework and later in 2019 we will launch a new strategy and action plan for mental health, founded on the Stepchange approach, which has been in development over the past 18 months. We are investing in a substantial new building, the Centre for Student Life, which from 2021 will be the home of our Student Support Services.”

    Source location

    2019-0078-Response-by-Cardiff-University
    Page 2 · response
    Published 9 June 2019

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Allocate additional investment for posts supporting risk assessment, triage and management of student crises.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “4.10 In recent years we have seen a substantial growth in students presenting to our services in crisis, and therefore not a state suitable for counselling. This is an issue we are currently seeking to alter our approach to in response to this presenting change. We are reviewing and improving a range of policies, including in particular our ‘Fitness to Study Procedure’, to make them more accessible and supportive; we are in the early stages of developing a new approach managing risk assessment and intervention where students are experiencing a crisis. We have recently allocated around £150,000 additional investment for new posts to risk assess, triage and manage these situations. This in turn will release staff time back to our counselling provision as the growth in this type of work has, to this point, been reactively managed by our counselling staff.”

    Source location

    2019-0078-Response-by-Cardiff-University
    Page 9 · response
    Published 9 June 2019

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Increase staff time allocated to student counselling and wellbeing services.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “4.8 At the University Counselling Service management aims for a maximum wait of three working weeks for a combined assessment counselling session (90 minute Therapeutic Consultation); this is normally followed by a four week purposeful gap for the student to explore goals set at that consultation, and a date agreed for the student to re-engage with the service. The service aims for a maximum four week wait for ongoing counselling. Our Wellbeing Team aim for a maximum two weeks wait for assessment and four weeks for ongoing sessions.”

    Source location

    2019-0078-Response-by-Cardiff-University
    Page 8 · response
    Published 9 June 2019

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent position was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    The University disputes that its counselling and wellbeing provision is inadequate for the purposes its services are intended to fulfil.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Matters of Concern 5 (1): “Provision of sufficient services within Cardiff University to provide emergency help and support for students. Evidence suggested there may be inadequate provision of counselling and wellbeing services, with long waits being experienced by attendees, also that after 4 appointments students must reapply. This presents obvious difficulties for students with longer term needs;””

    Source location

    2019-0078-Response-by-Cardiff-University
    Page 7 · response
    Published 9 June 2019

    Open published response

  2. Exeter and Greater Devon

    AI-generated summary

    William Jeffrey MASKELL · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    William Jeffrey MASKELL, who had Bipolar Disorder, was found collapsed in his university room after ingesting a fatal quantity of Venlafaxine and Lamotrigine. He was taken to hospital but was declared deceased. Concerns included the lack of a clear protocol for involving relevant agencies and the Police, delays in attending and forcing entry, and a risk of future deaths from untimely intervention.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Insufficient capacity for timeous intervention for students in distress

    Wider context from the report

    “3. There is a real risk of future deaths of students in distress for lack of timeous intervention because of the current restraints. ”

    Source location

    William Jeffrey MASKELL · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 2 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Conduct an independent external review of out-of-hours welfare support and crisis-management practices, including duty-of-care, legal, resourcing and infrastructure requirements.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Separately to the review conducted following receipt of the Regulation 28 Report, the University had already undertaken to engage an independent third party to review its practices around out-of-hours welfare support and crisis management, taking into consideration the University’s duty of care and legal responsibilities as well as resourcing and infrastructure requirements. This review forms part of the University’s ongoing commitment to ensuring best practice in the industry. We anticipate this external review will be completed by May 2016.”

    Source location

    William-Maskell-Response
    Page 3 · response
    Published 14 December 2015

    Open published response

Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.

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Data last updated 7 September 2026