Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2023
Scotland’s mental health crisis has reached breaking point. Currently, more than 30,000 people are on a waiting list for mental health support; mental health-related calls to NHS 24 are seven times higher now than in 2019; and, in the past two years, more than 4,000 patients have waited over a year before they have even been allocated their first appointment. That is unacceptable.
Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis have placed mental health at the forefront of the political agenda, as they have caused the Scottish population to experience amplified feelings of anxiety. The theme of this year’s mental health awareness week is anxiety. Children and young people studying at universities and colleges can often feel overwhelmed by stress and anxiety.
Research by the Mental Health Foundation last year found that 64 per cent of college students in Scotland had low mental wellbeing and 55 per cent had hidden their mental health problems due to shame. However, students in Scotland are not able to access the help and support that they desperately need. If young people cannot rely on the NHS for it, they must have alternative routes for seeking counselling and advice on mental health issues.
Universities and colleges are places where young people can seek help and advice. Counselling services at universities and colleges provide students with extra support at a time in their lives when stress and anxiety can seriously impact their mental health. Counsellors at our universities do a tremendous and essential job by supporting staff and students to find solutions to their problems, yet many are now facing uncertainty about their jobs and the future of counselling services at universities and colleges, because funding from the Scottish Government will end in July. Up to 80 counselling jobs in higher and further education across Scotland are set to be cut if additional funding is not allocated.
University or college can be a stressful and challenging environment for many young adults, and the Covid pandemic has only exacerbated that. Counsellors at universities and colleges do vital work to reduce stress and anxiety and improve mental health. Their work massively reduces the pressure on NHS services at a time when the NHS is already outsourcing children’s mental health services to reduce waiting times.
The Scottish Government must allocate continued funding now to save the 80 counselling jobs across Scottish universities and colleges. That vital service must continue to be available to all students who need that little bit of extra support. During this mental health awareness week, the Scottish Government should make a commitment to students across Scotland that support at university and college will continue to be there for those who need it.
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