Cambridge University’s mental health service ‘ineffective’

The University of Cambridge’s mental health services were branded “ineffective”, “untargeted” and “unsustainable” in a report seen by the BBC, write Phil Shepka and Helen Mulroy for BBC News.

Five Cambridge students have died since March, with one confirmed as suicide and four suspected to be suicides. Prior to the deaths, a review of the university’s mental health services found there were “likely to be significant inefficiencies”. The university said it had “embarked on a significant programme of change”.

It is not known whether the students who died had used the university’s mental health services. The BBC has also been contacted by about a dozen current and former students with experience of those services, whose concerns include the “fitness to study” procedure, which can be initiated after somebody tries to kill themselves. Students said none of the procedure’s panel deciding upon their future studies were mental health specialists, with one student stating they “felt like probation hearings, like I was on trial, talking to complete strangers about stuff I hadn’t properly unpacked with a therapist yet”.
Full report on the BBC News site