With the new Government looking at a plan to reshape the NHS for the next 10 years, now is the perfect chance to make sure the health concerns and needs of students are heard and taken seriously.
Currently, the Government is looking for direct feedback and ideas about the NHS from all members of the public, which you can find here and here. The NHS is also looking for feedback from workshops, which we’ll be running in February using the materials they’ve provided. You’ll hear about it soon! As part of this 10-year plan, they’ve also asked for submissions from organizations like us, the Guild.
Our submission used student data and survey responses that we’ve collected through things like Survey Superheroes and Your Say Your Way, making sure your concerns around physical and mental health are heard. While the report we sent was substantial, here is a list of key messages and proposals we sent!
Content Warning: mention of ill health, eating disorders, mental health struggles, suicide, hate crime, sexual assault, violence, domestic abuse
The link between personal finance and health can’t be understated, with our students (24%) skipping meals and other necessities and reporting lower mental health(80%) due to personal finance (Student Financial Health Report’24). With the Government highlighting “tackling the root causes of ill health” as a priority, we recommended increases to maintenance loans and further financial support for students.
More services for on-campus health centres, such as urgent care and diagnostic tests, lowering the need for outside referrals, reducing wait times, and saving the NHS associated administrative costs, learning from the Finnish model.
A Government review into policies that may lead to an increase in people developing eating disorders and to worsening the struggles of those with eating disorders.
Free sexual health products and STI testing on campus for all students, not just under
Long-term mental health services for all, with specialised services (such as counselling) for marginalised groups and those with trauma, particularly important with 75%of our students having witnessed or experienced racism, homophobia, spiking, or sexual assault and violence during their time at Exeter, and at least half of our BAME students have personally experienced racism (Guild Night Safety Report 2021-22).
More funding for Gender Identity Clinics to reduce wait time (the 2023 Devon average being ~6 years; BBC News), helping reduce the mental health crisis, suicidal ideation rate, and risks associated with self-medicating for trans people waiting for gender affirmative care.
Creating a de-medicalised path for receiving a Gender Recognition Certificate, recognizing those that only wish to transition socially, reducing wait times and strain on mental health services.
Legally recognizing a nonbinary option as other countries (Australia, the Netherlands, the U.S.) have done, especially for those moving to the UK from those countries.
Comprehensive, updated training for NHS workers to understand the needs of trans patients (such as transmen accessing gynaecological support).
Addressing racial bias in medicine and improving hesitancy gaps for marginalized groups seeking and accessing support. For example, 71% of our Asian students report hesitancy seeking wellbeing support due to their cultural background (Wellbeing and Support Report ’24).
Giving access to Disabled Student Allowance to international students, acknowledging the extra financial cost of disability (£975/month according to Scope UK) and international students paying the Immigration Health Surcharge for access to the NHS.
Exempting partner-earned income from the Employment and Support Allowance, ensuring that disabled people and those with chronic health conditions aren’t financially punished for cohabitating with a partner and to reduce financial reliance on partners, which can lead to domestic abuse(BBC News).
Funding for universities to improving wellbeing provision, with strict criteria and goals to meet.
Funding for student unions to provide more resources for student-led initiatives around mental health (peer support groups) and health education (safe sex, early cancer symptom detection).
Improving the diagnostic testing process as a whole.
Creating amore standardized online appointment booking system.
Thomas Tran, Communities & Equality Officer
If you have any concerns, ideas, or would like to get involved, feel free to reach out at thomas.tran@exeterguild.com!
Works Cited:
Guild data: https://www.exeterguild.com/research-insights
Racial bias in medicine: https://www.england.nhs.uk/midlands/wrei/tackling-racism-and-other-types-of-discrimination/
Gender Identity Clinics and mental health: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-68588724
Trans people and self-medicating: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51530274
Extra financial costs for those with disabilities: https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/extra-costs
Employment and Support Allowance and domestic abuse: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-57482418