Student Liaison Service

If your university feels you could benefit from further support, they may offer to refer you to our service.

We will discuss this referral with your university, to better understand what support would be helpful.

We will give advice on how best to support you. If we can offer helpful treatment, we will offer you an appointment.

If we think you would benefit from another service, we will let your university know.

When we invite you to an appointment with our service, we will try to make sure the time fits in around you and your studies.

As an NHS service, we are independent from the universities we work with. But we do work closely with both the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, to make sure that we can best understand how to support students.

By working alongside the universities, we can make sure our service fits in with your life as a student.

During your first appointment, you will have a support conversation with a mental health practitioner within the team.

After this appointment, we will work with you to create a plan on how best to support you. We may offer you an intervention delivered by our team. We may support you to access another service. We may also do both.

When working with you, we want to:

• support you and your wellbeing in a way that makes sense to you;
• make sure you feel empowered and able to lead us in how best to support your wellbeing.

Interventions may include, but are not limited to:

• Assessment (your support conversation)
• Connecting with other services
• Support planning
• Safety planning
• Group work, using a Dialetical Behaviour Therapy-based model. This focuses on learning skills to support you with managing emotions and challenges in different ways. Groups will be delivered online and have been designed specifically to support students.

All in-person appointments will take place on your university's campus.

• Urgent care ‒ if things become too difficult and you are in crisis, emergency services will be the most best option to get urgent help. We cannot replace community mental health or crisis teams.
• Medication management/advice;
• Diagnostic appointments;
• Counselling;
• Long-term support;
• Direct referral to other NHS services. If we feel you need to work with other services, we will recommend connecting with them directly or via your student wellbeing service and/or GP.

Shout: The UK’s free, confidential and 24/7 mental health text service for crisis support.

Second Step: Working hand-in-hand with the NHS and local authorities, they offer practical help and emotional support tailored to each individual and their recovery.

You should get immediate expert advice and assessment.

• Contact your GP practice to request an urgent appointment.
• Call 111: you need urgent help for your mental health, and ask for option 2.
• Call 999 or go to A&E if: someone’s life is at risk, or you feel you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe.
• Samaritans: Call 116 123 free from any phone or visit here.

It is important that you have agreed (consented) to the referral to our service and that it is your choice.

The NHS is independent from your university. If you consent to us receiving a referral from your university we will:

• access information held on the NHS systems about your current and historical information
• make sure your recorded information stays up-to-date

All information will be treated in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

For details on how Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust will process and manage your information, and how to make a complaint in relation to your data, please see AWP's Fair Process notice.

We will only contact services or individuals without your consent if we believe there is an urgent and significant risk to yourself or others that requires emergency support.

You can decide what information you want shared, with whom, and in the way that you want that.

After your appoinment, we will agree what information we will share with the university referrer (e.g. student wellbeing, counselling service) to enable them to continue to support you.

We will always discuss with you if we feel other services or individuals could be appropriate to involve in your care. The final decision will be yours to make.

If you have any questions or for more information, please speak to a member of our team.

Tel: 01173546700

For information on Trust services, visit www.awp.nhs.uk

To make a comment, complaint or to raise a concern, please contact the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Tel: 01225 362 900

Freephone: 0800 073 1778

Email: awp.pals@nhs.net