Calls for better uni care after student suicides
‘We have witnessed a wave of compassion from the public’
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on the government and higher education bosses to have a duty of care for students.
It comes after Phoebe Grime, from Cranbrook, was one of many youngsters to take their own life after struggling at university.
The 20-year-old died in hospital in April 2021 after being found at her accommodation at Newcastle University.
Her family claimed university bosses and staff didn’t provide her with enough support after her mental health declined due to a mix of lockdown, deadlines and problems with her living arrangements.
Now, a petition launched by the LEARN Network, who supported Phoebe’s mother Hilary Grime, has called on the government to take action. A spokesman for the organisation, which was set up by Bob Abrahart, whose daughter took her own life at Bristol University in 2018, said: “The Learn Network would like to express our sincere thanks to all 100,000 plus signatories to this petition. You understood how vital this change is for the future of our students.
“Our hearts go out to those families who shared tragic stories in which difficulties were sometimes overcome but far too many left bereaved.
“We have witnessed a wave of compassion from the public – recognition that a more compassionate culture is needed in higher education and that a legal duty of care is at its foundation.”
The group called on the government to hold a debate on care for students.
Lee Fryatt, who lost his son Daniel to suicide, added: “Where universities have some measure of control, for example, dismissal, fitness to study, extenuating circumstances and failed exams, they must take reasonable steps to protect the student. “Consideration of the impact on the mental health of the student should be at the core of all decision making and so should a legal duty of care.”
An inquest in Newcastle heard coroner Karin Welsh say: “I cannot identify any point where things should have been done differently for Phoebe by anybody involved in her support.”