Mental health of students in higher education

Appendix 3Different models of psychiatricprovisionA range of very varied arrangements are described here, from one universitywhich employs a psychiatrist for several sessions a week, to others whichhave found ways of accessing local NHS psychiatric services.King’s College LondonWe have a consultant psychiatrist/psychoanalyst who is a permanentmember of the counselling team here at King’s College London. He works8/11 of an NHS contract. His input into clinical counselling team meetingsis invaluable as is the fact that he has a very significant case-load of verydisturbed students (last year, for example, he saw 125 students). Thepsychiatrist handles any referrals to community mental health teams(CMHTs) and liaises with external GPs when necessary. We also have a goodrelationship and regular meetings with our medical centre staff, who valuehighly the ability to refer easily to a psychiatrist.Goldsmiths College, LondonWe have established a very good relationship with a psychiatrist at ourlocal CMHT. He now has a remit to see virtually all Goldsmiths studentswho are referred to the CMHT so that he has built up a real awareness ofthe issues students face and has a sound understanding of the particularmental health issues among this group of patients. This link means that wecan give students sound information about what to expect when they havea psychiatric assessment at the CMHT.Queen Mary, University of LondonAt Queen Mary, University of London, the 2003 report (Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists, 2003) has added weight to our bid for extra funds forpsychiatric support and has allowed us to recruit two new consultantpsychiatrists to the team. They are employed by the local trust and havetheir work with us written into their job plan. This means that clinicalRoyal College of Psychiatrists77