University Mental Health Charter
HSU is proud to be part of University Mental Health Charter (UMHC), a national standard that supports universities to promote positive mental health and wellbeing of their students and staff.
What is the University Mental Health Charter (UMHC)?
The University Mental Health Charter is run by Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity with approximately 118 universities signed up to the initiative. It was developed in partnership with staff, students and higher education experts to help universities take a ‘whole-university’ approach to mental health and wellbeing, and provides a nationally recognised framework to help universities build environments where both staff and students can thrive.
Our longstanding involvement shows HSU’s commitment to the Charter and continued focus on creating a supportive environment for our community.
“As Vice-Chancellor I am proud HSU are a member of the University Mental Health Charter programme. We are firmly committed to the principles and ambitions of the Charter and a whole institution approach to mental health at HSU. As a specialist health sciences institution, the health and wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do as a university. Positive student and staff mental health remains a high priority for me and our wider leadership team, and we are committed to continuing to embed the charter framework during the 2026-7 academic year”.
Professor Lesley Haig, Vice Chancellor
What is HSU doing as part of the Charter?
We have recently established working groups that align to the Charter’s framework across 5 key domain areas:
| Domain | Area of work | Lead |
| Support | How we support our students | Led by Julie Gill and Tiffany Moore |
| Live | Focusing on the wider university experience, including campus and accommodation | Led by Rhianydd Lewis and Eleanor Roe |
| Learn | Considering mental health and wellbeing across curriculum, placements and assessment | Led by Stewart Cotterill |
| Work | Focusing on staff mental health and wellbeing | Led by Rebecca Old |
| Enabling | Embedding this work through our structures, policies and procedures | Led by Lisa Bates |
We have a network of Mental Health First Aiders available across its campuses to provide a confidential and safe space for students or staff experiencing mental health issues or distress.
We also have multiple internal resources for staff, including a e-learning training package and an employee assistant programme.
How to access Mental Health support:
Staff – Reach out directly to the designated first aiders displayed around campus, or contact the People Team at: PeopleHelpDesk@hsu.ac.uk
Students – Contact Student and Wellbeing Services via email at: studentservices@hsu.ac.uk
Alternatively, students and staff can access our 24/7 helpline with free confidential support via our Helping Hand and Help at Hand schemes.
How can I get involved?
Join our steering group
We encourage our community to actively get involved to help shape how mental health and wellbeing are embedded across the university.
We have regular meetings to discuss progress against the framework and welcome new members, if you’d like to join the steering group, please express interest in the first instance to: PeopleHelpDesk@hsu.ac.uk
Become a MHFA
If you’re interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) to provide an important point of contact for our community members experiencing mental health difficulties or emotional distress. We’re looking to expand our network and would encourage colleagues who would like to develop skills in supporting others and promoting wellbeing across HSU, to contact mhfa@hsu.ac.uk to learn more.
