Member Survey Report 2022

At UMHAN we regularly survey our members on issues such as caseload, working conditions and feedback on their membership. Results are presented to the Board of Trustees to inform development work. 

This year, in addition to standard questions, we included 2 additional sections: one on role tasks, and another on evaluation. The roles of Mental Health Adviser (MHA) and Specialist Mental Health Mentor (SMHM) are not well defined or understood, and we hope data about tasks performed will help improve awareness of the scope and importance of both roles. Collating more information about how members and services evaluate their work will, we hope, help to provide insight into a frequently discussed topic in the sector, and to establish a more consistent approach.

This survey period has covered a time of flux and recovery; members have been reporting unusual patterns of student referrals/registrations, appointment access and student mental health presentation throughout the year. As such, the survey data may also demonstrate unusual patterns that may not continue in the coming academic years

Key points from our survey findings are:

• 81% of MHAs had 50% or more proportion of their caseloads in the high risk category

• 26% of respondents said that this number had increased over the past 12 months

• Risk assessments and mental health/wellbeing assessments are the most commonly performed tasks by MHAs. 

• Psychoeducation/ psychological interventions were felt to be the most effective task

• 58% or respondents felt their service was under-staffed

• Just over a third of respondents plan to leave their role between now and 5 years time