Bereaved families of students 'left out of' suicide reviews

BEREAVED families of students believed to have died by suicide at university should be included in the process of finding out what happened to their loved ones, a review has concluded.

- ELEANOR BUSBY

Some families described feeling that universities can be "evasive and reluctant" to answer important and painful questions relevant to prevention, according to the national review of higher education student suicides. A family whose daughter was studying at the University of Bristol when she died is among those to speak out.

The study by experts at the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) at the University of Manchester has called for a version of the "duty of candour" to be introduced to the higher education sector to ensure universities are open and transparent with bereaved families.

In 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) commissioned an independent national review of student suicide deaths, and incidents of non-fatal self-harm, at higher education institutions across England.

The review was informed of 107 suspected suicide deaths and 62 incidents of non-fatal self-harm among students during the 2023/2024 academic year.

Serious incident reports were submitted for 104 (62%) of these 79 (74%) reports of suspected suicide and 25 (40%) reports of incidents of non-fatal self-harm.

The Government has said it is working with the higher education mental health taskforce to develop guidance and drive consistent adoption in the sector.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Government is committed to working with universities to turn the findings into "real, lasting improvements".

She said "decisive, visible action" is expected to ensure that no family is "left in the dark again".

The report said: "One of the main messages from the families we spoke to was of feeling excluded from and not listened to in the process of finding out what happened to their loved one. Some had a perception that

This review points out the cracks, but ignores the broken system underneath

DR ROBERT ABRAHART