Concerns over student mental health

Student mental health must be treated as a priority, the Liberal Democrats said after figures showed more than 45,000 people have used university counselling services in the last five years.

Statistics compiled by the Lib Dems showed that over the last five academic years, 45,724 students have sought help from university counselling services.

The universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow reported the highest demand, with 8105 and 9308 students respectively seeking help over the period according to the figures which were obtained under Freedom of Information.

Across Scotland, 9382 students sought counselling from their university in 2016-17 – down from the total of 11,981 recorded the previous year, but up from 6002 in 2012-13.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “A student’s time at university can be the time of their life but it can also be incredibly stressful. From anxiety over finances to stress related to academic work, there are challenges that can have implications for people’s mental health.

“We know that student counselling services in universities work incredibly hard but these figures show just how much demand there is for their service.

“We recently revealed that a student in Glasgow had been waiting nearly 300 days for an appointment. This figure is nothing short of an outrage.

“Looking after a student’s mental health while they are at university must be a priority.”