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Students’ well-being has never been in better hands, after The University of Nottingham Health Service received two nominations for the 2013 British Medical Journal’s (BMJ) Group Awards.
Shortlisted for the ‘Primary Care Team of the Year’ gong for the third time since 2009, the team has also made it down to the final six nominees in the ‘Mental Health Team of the Year’ category.
Having made the shortlists, University of Nottingham Health Service Business Manager Daniel Hammersley, explained: “Being listed for these two awards reflects our ongoing commitment to offering the highest level of service to our patients.
“It is also a reflection on the huge amount of joint work which goes on between the practice, NHS Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group and the University, particularly Student Services, the University counselling service and the Mental Health and Health Promotion advisors.
“We are of course honoured to be recognised once again for the quality of our work and these nominations act as a great motivator to carry on developing and expanding our services.”
Those services are currently provided to over 38,000 registered patients, during approximately 120,000 appointments each year. As well as offering the full range of normal NHS services, staff also provide specialised services in sexual health, travel medicine, sports injuries, dermatology, mental health and smoking cessation, as well as drugs, alcohol, midwife and health visitor clinics.
Tackling eating disorders
The ‘Mental Health Team of the Year’ award nomination, has been achieved after judges were impressed with the work done to support students affected by eating disorders.
Daniel Hammersley continued: “One in four people have a mental health problem at some stage of their life. Being at University can be a hugely transitional and stressful time so the practice, University and Students’ Union have worked to develop a wide range of support services.
“Our experience is that a number of patients use eating as a form of coping strategy during difficult times, which can go on to lead to an eating disorder. People’s individual experiences are often very different but it is important to recognise that an eating disorder can be beaten with help and support.
“We recognised a gap in provision for those with a mild to moderate condition and a number of barriers to accessing support. This led us to develop the Eating Disorders in Students Service (EDISS), which provides drop-in and pre-booked appointments at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University offering information, support and treatment.”
The winners will be announced at the annual BMJ awards on the 9 May.
Top marks for sexual health services
In more good news for the University’s health services, Nottingham has also topped a league of the 24 Russell Group institutions, in a survey investigating student sexual health service provision.
Researchers from Dr Ed, an online medical service, ranked the University in first place after judging sexual health services by criteria including: opening hours, availability of drop in sessions, access to contraception, and the quality of the information available both on site and online.
To find out more about the sexual health services available to students at The University of Nottingham, please visit the HealthyU website.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It was ‘one of the first to embrace a truly international approach to higher education’, according to the Sunday Times University Guide 2013. It is also one of the most popular universities among graduate employers, one of the world’s greenest universities, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong and the QS World Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fundraising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…