COLLEGE TRIBUNE The www.collegetribune.ie
Minister Ruairi Quinn On the future of 3rd level sector Features, page 8 - 9.
SINCE 1989 - VOLUME 27 - ISSUE 3 TUESDAY OCTOBER 8 2013
Our Agony Aunt Al Porter Answers questions
A Trip To India
Conor Fox tells us about his Summer adventure
post the Seanad vote
Travel, page 11.
T+, Page 11.
University Mental Health Services Strained as Students Face Long Wait Numbers attending counselling up 33% since 2006
Donie O’Sullivan Reporter The UCD Health Service are currently unable to indicate when the next regular appointment to see a counsellor will become available. As of Monday, 39 people were on the waiting list to use the service. The trend is indicative of strained mental health support services in universities across the state, as providers struggle to keep pace with increasing demand. Since 2006, student enrolments at third level institutions have
increased by 16% nationally, while the number attending university counseling services has increased by 33%. One mental health professional in an Irish University told the College Tribune, their service had half a dozen students on suicide watch over the past week. The College Tribune contacted counselling services in the state’s seven universities. UCD were unable to state when next a non-urgent appointment with a counsellor would be available. However, all other universities were able to pro-
Time for HSE to act says university counselling representative body
vide a regular appointment within two weeks. UCD keeps a number of counselling slots open daily for students in urgent need of attention, often these slots are filled through referral from a GP. Trinity College Dublin, and universities in Maynooth, Galway and Limerick all offer a drop in service whereby students can meet a counselor for an initial assessment. UCD, DCU, and UCC do not offer a drop-in service, however both DCU and UCC were able to provide a non-urgent counseling
appointment within ten days. Dr. Sandra Tighe, Medical Director of the UCD Student Health Service explained UCD’s lack of a drop-in service is “largely a resource issue, in that if you are going to see someone for an assessment you have got to have somewhere to slot them in after you assess them and it’s difficult to assess somebody and say ‘well there is a waiting list of three months’ or whatever.”
The UCD Student Health Service currently employs three full time and three part-time counsellors. However, one of the full-time staff members is currently on maternity leave and has not been replaced. “We’re down one person so that is going to affect waiting lists,” Tighe explained. “If nobody leaves, if nobody gets sick, if nobody goes on maternity leave, you’re kind of coping to some extent. Continued on page 2
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