DEBATE, the article was published in Dagens Arena 29 / 11-2020. Read the article on dagsarena.se here
A functioning student health is crucial for students to receive support here and now, but also a path to further care. Today, not only are the times too few and the knowledge too small, Student Health's mission is also so unclear that students are tossed between public care and Student Health. We can not have that, write Linn Svärd and Sofia Holmdahl.
Students today feel worse than other peers and the problem of mental illness is widespread. By law, higher education institutions have a responsibility to ensure that students have access to health care, especially preventive health care, the purpose of which is to promote students' physical and mental health. But despite this legal requirement, we see from Stockholm University's student union and the Swedish National Union of Students, which work with issues concerning students' life and study situation nationally and locally, that the situation is acute in many places in the country. In Stockholm, the situation is extreme.
In 2020, UKÄ was commissioned to review student health care. The survey will be published during the month of December. In the assignment, UKÄ will highlight students' access to student health care and differences in how student health care is organized between higher education institutions. According to the collective experience of our organizations, however, it is already obvious that the student health care mission needs to be clarified, care needs to be made available and, above all, resources are needed to be able to meet the need for support that exists. The investigation must not stop at just one survey, but the situation requires further action from the higher education institutions.
Crass you can say that it is probably lucky that the students do not know about Student Health, because if they had done so, Student Health would have had to go on its knees even more than today.
Student health at Stockholm University will constitute student health care for ten higher education institutions in Stockholm. It will thus cover a large part of Stockholm's students - a group that is feeling worse and worse. This may be a lack of context in a new city or that the studies themselves lead to great negative stress. These problems are further exacerbated now that teaching is primarily done digitally. Investigations have been made at Stockholm University, among others, where it has become clear that students feel bad and lack a connection due to the pandemic. Therefore, it is now more important than ever that students receive information about and have access to Student Health. Despite this, few students still know that there is a student health and do not know where to turn.
Crass you can say that it is probably lucky that the students do not know about Student Health, because if they had done so, Student Health would have had to go on its knees even more than today. At present, there are no times to book with Student Health at Stockholm University. Times are released once a week, but few students seem to know when. As soon as new times come, they are booked up, as a student you only have luck if you happen to slip into the website just when new free times appear. The telephone counseling available is open one hour a week. It is thus practically impossible to take part in the support that Student Health is to offer.
A functioning student health is crucial for students to receive support here and now, but it is also a way to further care. Today, not only are the times too few and the knowledge too small, Student Health's mission is also so unclear that students are tossed back and forth between general care and Student Health. So we can not have it.
Students should not get sick from their study situation and therefore we also want to emphasize the importance of preventive work around students' work environment in the long term, but now that we are in this situation, we can not let the question of support be a matter of chance or luck. Getting support is a right. We are positive that the Government's budget bill contains a special investment in student health care where a strengthening of SEK 25 million is proposed. But the question is whether the universities know what to do with the money?
It's time to act now. Students' health today stands in the way of taking part in a qualitative education. We can not afford that, nor should it be an acceptable situation. We are eagerly awaiting UKÄ's survey; an important and necessary investigation. But even more, we want to hear what the universities' action plan looks like to actually solve the problem: Is there a better booking system? More staff? Clearer priorities for the individual conversations? No matter what, we want an answer now.
Linn Sword
Vice Chairman
Swedish National Union of Students
Sofia Holmdahl
Chairperson
Stockholm University Student Union