The case of an Aberystwyth student’s suicide and alleged failings by university wellbeing services has been raised in the Senedd.

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and MS for Mid and West Wales, Jane Dodds, spoke about the students’ campaign in his name and asked what steps the Welsh Government is taking to improve mental wellbeing for higher education students. 

Second-year computer science student Charlie McLeod, aged 25, had been suffering with depression before his suspected suicide in early February.   

Romana Nemcová launched the campaign, Charlie Asked for Help, to improve Aberystwyth University’s wellbeing services which are ‘failing vulnerable and suicidal students’.  

Those close to Charlie - who remember him as intelligent, witty, caring and sensitive - believe the university’s wellbeing services failed in their duty of care once he had presented himself to them as suicidal.  

His family and friends allege that his case was not treated with due concern or urgency, he was not supported appropriately, nor was he checked on after he underwent counselling and revealed intentions to harm himself. His family also were not informed of his suicidal ideation. 

Aberystwyth University denies these claims and says its student wellbeing team were in contact with Charlie throughout the 2022-23 academic year. 

Ms Dodds said: “The students are calling for better wellbeing services, a clear definition for the duty of care for higher education institutions and to make them subject to serious incident reviews. I would welcome a statement on those matters.” 

In response, Labour Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, Lesley Griffiths MS, said: “I’m aware of the event taking place today at Aberystwyth University and preventing suicide is absolutely a priority for Welsh Government and as you’re aware we have established an expert group to advise on how to improve access to mental health services and we want to ensure that universities across Wales have consistent and accessible support for students.” 

An Aberystwyth University spokesperson told the Cambrian News “Our multi-disciplinary professional team supports nearly a thousand students a year, with many provided with one-to-one wellbeing sessions with our qualified practitioners according to their individual needs.

“Listening and acting on feedback from our students on this service is very important to us, and we have recently been developing our provision in light of wider sector developments in this area.

“As a university we offer extensive welfare services that include offering help and support to those in need and facilitating access to specialist statutory services where appropriate.”