Serious Incident Statistics
Dear Glasgow Caledonian University,
I am requesting information pertaining to all serious incident investigations involving the health, wellbeing or welfare of one or more students - a ‘serious incident’ being an adverse event, with significant harmful or potentially harmful consequences, and/or where the effectiveness of the university response is likely to have a significant impact on the health, wellbeing or welfare of a student, their family and/or the community.
The need for a serious incident report is specifically recognised in UUK’s Suicide-Safer Universities (2018) guidance.
It would be most useful, if your reply could be comprehensive. The key factor in all cases is that the University conducted a serious incident investigation. It is not limited to serious incident investigations following the death of a student, or a student suicide, or conducted after a mental health incident (such as attempted suicide, near misses, parasuicide, and non-suicidal self-injury), and whether in University owned property or not. Additionally, if you have records regarding students who were no longer registered with the University, but where you still carried out such an investigation, that information would also be of interest.
If you could provide the relevant numbers, subdivided according to any of the above and/or other categories, that would be extremely helpful.
So, for each of the academic periods 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21:
a) How many serious incident investigations has the Glasgow Caledonian University conducted?
b) How many serious incident reports were produced?
c) How many serious incidents involved a fatality?
d) How many serious incident reports and/or their findings has the Glasgow Caledonian University shared with other institutions?
e) How many serious incident reports and/or their findings have other institutions shared with you?
In the case of (d) and (e), please specify the different types of institution that were involved in the sharing e.g., other university, UUK, NHS, PHE, Mental Health Trust, OfS, DfE, etc
Yours sincerely
Johanna Langheld
Dear Ms Langheld
The University acknowledges receipt of your request and will get back to you as soon as possible.
The Freedom of Information Team will contact you if we require any further information.
Yours sincerely
Linda Reid
Linda Reid
Department of Governance
T: +44 (0)141 273 1451 | E: [email address]
Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA,
Scotland, United Kingdom
Dear Ms Langheld
I refer to your request for information below.
The University is unable to provide the University you seek because we do not categorise or hold the information in the way you describe. Notice is given under Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, that the information which you require is not held.
We currently use a case conference system for incidents of concern involving a student either because of a single incident or because a pattern of potentially lower level issues has emerged. This process is most commonly initiated in response to situations where: staff or students have raised concerns over either an individual’s wellbeing or their behaviour or both; we have received externally raised reports or information regarding a student(s) e.g. from Police, Fire and Rescue Services; or where there has been any other untoward incident involving a student(s). A case conference more usually involves bringing together information held in different parts of the University and beyond developing an intervention or support strategy but may on occasion involve investigation too.
The case conference process provides an opportunity for staff from across the university to come together to review the situation, assess risk and agree actions. Multiple meetings are often held including a postvention meeting to consider any lessons learned for the incident and the university’s response. External partner may also be invited to attend meetings depending on the nature of the incident.
The recommendations of the UUK’s Suicide-Safer Universities (2018) guidance has informed our overall strategic approach to student mental health. Work is currently underway via a Suicide Safer Task Group to develop a Safer Suicide Policy which will include specific actions in relation to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention as part of our 2025 Student Mental Health Action Plan.
Please find attached a review notice setting out the steps you may take if you are not satisfied with the response provided to your request.
Yours sincerely
Hazel Lauder
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