More students turn to the psychology service at Foundation for Student Life in Oslo. The result: 20 per cent of the students have to wait longer than a semester for a consultation.

- There is a increase in enquiries at the service for psychic health, says the leader of SiO Øyvind Gjengaar.

The mental health care service has for a long time suffered from limited capacity, and the situation is continuously worsening. During the first six months of 2009 every third student was told to contact the service a month later. According to the health care service’s own statistics, 80 per cent eventually got an appointment some time during the semester, while one out of five were not helped at all.

Marit Eskeland, chief physician in the student health care service, admits that they don’t manage to help everyone who turn to them.

- It’s a question of capacity, says Eskeland, who wants to stress that students who need immidiate help gets it with no delay.

- We devote two hours every day for students who turn to us with needs of immidiate help, says Eskeland.

The Welfare Council recently agreed that they want a prioritization of mental health in SiO’s 2010 budget.

- Mental health is a field where we think we can and must be improved with relatively simple measures. This might be, for example, to make it easier to make an appointment over the phone, says Jenny Nygaard, president of the Welfare Council.

- Underfinanced and understaffed

Øyvind Gjengaar of SiO is prepared to prioritize mental health for 2010, but underlines that money is needed.

- Why were there 1033 students who didn’t get a consultation by a psychologist in 2008, and why do 20 per cent of the students have to wait for more than one semester to get an appointment?

- Because we’re underfinanced and understaffed. By today’s situation, SiO does not have the capacity to help those who have the biggest problems, but we want a future arrangement where we can forward them to a psychologist in the public sector.

SiO doesn’t yet have any specific measures to improve the mental health service, but stresses that the service will continue to be free of charge. The focus will be on preventive precautions specifically for students.

- How are you planning to finance the capacity development?

- SiO wants an increase in the governmental financial support so we can prioritize mental health. We will do what we can to make this happen. The student health service carries out tasks that are mainly government’s, municipality’s and health trusts’ responsibility, and the service functions as an assistance to the public service. The problem is that we sometimes fall between two stools and become underfinanced.

Offbeat grants

Responsible for the financing of SiO’s health care services is the health trust the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, and also the municipality. The South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority is responsible for the mental health service and grants the cause six million Norwegian kroner this year.

- The problem is that the amount doesn’t consider the increase of demands. The granting of means hasn’t increased while the enquiries have. Therefore it’s not possible to create an offer that is satisfying with help only from the tuition fee, says Gjengaar.

Wants earmarked means

In 2003, SiO used 2,7 million Norwegian kroner from the tuition fee to cover the payment on mental health services. In 2007 they had to pay 6,3 million kroner to maintain the same services. To improve the financial situation they want the Ministry of Health and Care Services to earmark the means for the mental health service. This is written in a letter to the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority where control demands are explained.

Vice-director in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authoritym Bård Lilleeng points out that they are under the Ministry of Health and Care Services.

- It is the Storting that determines the frames of our business. Our distribution of the bugdet frame is passed after we have had the budget and control signals passed on by our owner, the Ministry of Health and Care Services.

Leader in the standing committe on health and care services Harald Nesvik thinks that student’s mental health is important, but he is skeptical to if SiO’s wish can become reality.

- It’s not likely, seeing that the Minister of Health is already up to his neck of lines in the public psychiatry. There is a lack of experts in psychiatry, and if SiO is to get more staff, then we have to take it from somewhere else. Then someone else will be affected. We have to regard the mental health service as a whole and give the whole system a lift with the focus on availability for everyoen.

The Ministry of Health and Care Services does not for the time being want to comment on SiO’s wish.

Other welfare services in danger

According to Gjengaar will mental health still be field of aim in 2010, even if the government doesn’t put some money on the table. This despite the fact that an increase of the tuition fee is not planned.

- The Welfare Council has agreed that this is to be prioritized. But it will happen at the expense of other welfare offers that are financed through the tuition fee, like student life, career centers, student counceling and the student health care service.