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ISSUE 732 29 MAR 2022 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

“Underfunded, understaffed and inefficient”: students criticise University’s wellbeing services

Chloe Pumares and Lucy Aylmer Deputy Editors

Education: not built for all students? Page 11

In conversation: Paul Draper, Ex-Mansun frontman Page 21

EVERAL students have spoken out about their experience with the University’s wellbeing services. One student, who would prefer to remain anonymous, has stated that the wellbeing services have “stopped referrals completely with no waiting lists and they don’t know when they will reopen.” They added that “about two months ago I spoke to them but was turned away and told to find a specialist service. It seems to me that they are turning people away as they were overloaded and have now shut as they don’t have enough staff.” Another student who was referred to the wellbeing services in January and who has not heard back since, has confirmed that “they’ve stopped accepting referrals from societies and sports clubs due to lack of funding and personnel.” Many students have cited the inefficiency of the wellbeing services at the University. Henry Hood, a third-year English student and Print Director for Enigma Journal, told Exeposé that “the referral service is still far too slow. Waiting times for an initial assessment is around three to four weeks. Since the term is only 12 weeks, this takes far too long.” He added that “the actual wellbeing staff themselves are brilliant therapists, but there are so few of them that it takes months to see them. I personally could have avoided a lot of difficulties if I had been given help earlier when I needed, instead of waiting for an appoint-

Image: Chloe Pumares and Lucy Aylmer

ment while my situation worsened.” The University has recieved a £3.7 million grant from UK Research and and Innovation to help evaluate the best model to support student wellbeing across the university sector. Professor Ed Watkins, who orchestrated the study, found that self-help interventions and subsequent apps are the most effective way to help the largest number of students. An FOI response from the University in August 2021 revealed that the University has spent £35,000 on online platforms within wellbeing services. As of August 2021, 1,700 students had access to these platforms. A survey conducted by Exeposé last week asked students about their experience with the University of Exeter’s wellbeing services. All those who took part in the survey said that they were aware of the wellbeing support offered

by the University, with 87.5 per cent of respondents having had direct experience with the University’s wellbeing services. When asked whether the University does enough to support students who are struggling with their mental health, 50 per cent of students stated that they were unsure and a further 37.5 per cent of students felt that the University does not do enough. Only 12.5 per cent of students felt that the University offered sufficient wellbeing support. Survey respondents were also asked to rate, on a scale of one (easy access) to five (very difficult), the accessibility of wellbeing appointments at the University. In total, 62.5 per cent of respondents rated accessibility as three or above. The survey concluded with asking students to state how they think the wellbeing services could be improved upon. One student said “departments

need to be trained on where to send referrals correctly so they’re not ‘lost’ [in communication]. Communication between module leaders [is also important so that] students do not have to repeat themselves.” Another student stated that the wellbeing services require “increased funding and availability of resources” as well as “partnering with Nightline” to better understand student issues. This suggestion was echoed by other respondents who commented that the University needs to “employ more trained therapists, make websites more accessible and stop using the outdated SID format to book appointments.” This outlook was confirmed by another student who stated that “more and better quality counsellors” were required.

Exeter stands in solidarity with Ukraine All about the ick Page 14 Images (top to bottom): Lucy Aylmer, Chuff Media, Marco Verch, Flickr

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