Freedom of Information

Hospitlisation Procedure

Student Health and Wellbeing Service

Procedures to follow in the event of a student being seriously injured or ill and/or admitted to hospital

1. Introduction

In the event that a student of the University is seriously injured or ill and/or admitted to hospital, thereby rendered unable to study, it is important that appropriate departments of the University are informed to ensure that certain actions are undertaken. This policy is to be used whilst the student is studying on campus or on any other University business, i.e. field trips, including those abroad. For more information on the emergency contact procedure for students off campus participating in an Exchange, please see Appendix A at the end of this policy.

News of such an incident might be received through a variety of channels and by any member of the University's staff or student body. This document is designed to make clear who you should contact if you receive news of this nature, and to provide an outline of who does what within the University once that news has been passed on.

It is difficult to describe a procedure that will fit every case as circumstances vary so much. The information provided in this document is to be used as a guide and is not meant to be prescriptive.

2. Procedure

If you receive this news from any source other than the Academic Registrar's Office, you should contact the Student Wellbeing Service on 0191 208 5870, unless you know that someone else has already made contact. You should provide as much detail as possible about the incident, including where the student is being treated.

It may be that staff in the Student Wellbeing Service are already aware of the incident from other sources, but please do not assume that this will be the case.

Sensitive cases:

Please note that, if the incident is the result of a sensitive situation, for example involving drugs or an attempt to self harm or commit suicide, special measures need to be put in place. Please contact the Student Wellbeing Service for further advice in the first instance.

a) The Head of Student Wellbeing or a nominee will:

  • contact the following school, services or institutes (depending on the circumstances) to advise them of the incident
    • The Head of School and/or personal tutor
    • The Student Progress Service
    • The Safety Office
    • The Finance Office
    • The Accommodation Office
    • The President of the Students Union International Office (if student is international or on an exchange) The Estates Office (if accident/illness occurred on campus)
    • Sports and Physical Recreation (if related to a sporting accident) Press Office (if deemed to be necessary)
  • In the case of hospital admission, make contact with the hospital to enquire into the student’s wellbeing, whether that be in the UK or abroad.
  • Where appropriate, send an e-mail to the student prior to his/her return to study, to offer an appointment with the relevant member of staff to ensure that arrangements are made for the appropriate support to be put in place for their return.

b) The Head of the Student's School (or his/her nominee) will:

  • with the student’s consent, ensure that the next of kin are aware of the situation. DO NOT CONTACT WITHOUT CONSENT. If the student is unable to give consent e.g. they are unconscious or deemed to lack the mental capacity to give consent, then the Student Wellbeing Service will contact the hospital to find out if the next of kin have been contacted. If they have not, Student Wellbeing will contact the next of kin.
  • ensure that School records are amended accordingly and that measures, such as adjustments, are put in place to allow the student to re-integrate following his/her period of recovery.
  • if the illness or injury necessitates a long-term break from study or results in disability, be prepared to discuss with the student and/or next of kin, the options and process of re-integration into the University.
  • arrange for a member of the student’s School to visit/contact the student to see if there is anything that he or she needs and to advise him/her of the support services available and also arrange for any messages from the student to be relayed.
  • contact a University Insurance Officer in order to clarify if the incident is covered by insurance
  • arrange for any personal belongings requested by the student to be delivered to the hospital.

c) The Student Progress Service will, where necessary:

  • issue a notice of 'Suspension of Studies' and update campus management
  • where appropriate inform the LEAs/Student Loan Companies

d) The University Safety Office will:

  • liaise with the Health and Safety Executive, if necessary and support the University in any accident investigation.

e) The Finance Office will:

  • liaise with the Head of the student’s School to ensure that the School and family are fully aware of the insurance cover available.

f) The Accommodation Office will:

  • ensure that an appropriate member of staff is available when required to provide the student's family or other individuals nominated by the student with access to the student's room to collect belongings
  • If the student is living in private rented accommodation, inform the property’s landlord of the incident. Student Wellbeing Services Procedures to follow in the event of a student being seriously injured or ill and/or admitted to hospital

g) Development Office will, if necessary:

  • amend their records
  • liaise with any external bodies to ensure other external administrative procedures are followed.

h) The International Office will:

  • amend their records if the student is an international student or a UK/EU student on an exchange.
  • liaise with any external bodies to ensure other external administrative procedures are followed.
  • See Appendix A for further information.

i) The Estates Office will:

  • investigate the incident if the accident or illness occurred whilst the student is on campus.

j) Sport and Physical Recreation (if related to a sports injury) will: 

  • inform the Athletic Union office at the Students’ Union
  • liaise with any external sporting bodies, such as BUSA or local clubs, to ensure any insurance claims or other external administrative or pastoral procedures are followed.

International ventures:

  • If a student in our Singapore campuses is seriously injured or ill and/or admitted to hospital the Dean of Newcastle University in Singapore will lead the coordination of the response in line with the Operational framework and the local context.
  • If a student at our Malaysia campus is seriously injured or ill and/or admitted to hospital the Academic Dean will lead the response using this document as a basis for that response but amending according to local circumstances.

3. Key contact details

Department  Key Contact Contact details
Student Health and Wellbeing Services  Data Co-ordinator/Team Leader Head of Student Wellbeing I-Team 

86133/83751 85870

I-Team@ncl.ac.uk 
Student Mobility and Integration  Student Mobility and Integration Team Manager 88275 
Accommodation Office  Accommodation Manager 0191 222 5797
Finance Office  Team Leader 85009 
Finance Office, Insurance   Insurance Officer 86520 
University Safety Office Safety Officer 86324 
Estates  Security Manager  86435 
Sports Centre Manager  85159 

 

APPENDIX A

Student Mobility and Integration Team Emergency Contact Procedure for students off campus participating in an Exchange.

Introduction

In advance of undertaking an exchange placement, students are given a full briefing, both verbally and in the form of a handbook. Students are required to prepare themselves fully for their placement by learning about the environment in which they will be based and, for example, they are required to complete a risk assessment so that they understand the nature of the country in which they will live and have thought through what they might need to do in the event of an accident or emergency. In addition, the University has a 24-hour emergency contact number. Details of the emergency numbers are provided to all students on a credit-card-sized card as well as in the form of a wrist band, and students are asked to carry or wear these at all times. If a student or relative were to contact the 24 hour emergency number, whether in or out of office hours, a procedure is in place which informs security staff who to contact regarding the situation.

The University subscribes to a travel insurance scheme which covers all outgoing students; this includes an emergency service which is available in-country 24 hours a day, covering emergency hospital treatment and evacuation if necessary. Representatives from the University’s insurers can also provide assistance ‘on the ground’ in the relevant country.

Procedure

In the event of receiving information regarding a student emergency the following people in the Student Mobility and Integration Team should be contacted immediately:

Key Contact Contact details
International Partnership Officer  86069 
If the International Partnership Officer is unavailable please contact: Senior Student Mobility Assistant 86689 
Erasmus Assistant 86138 
 Student Mobility and Integration Team Manager 88275 

The above personnel will implement the following actions:

  • Inform Insurance Officers, Insurance Officer 86520
  • Inform the relevant School
  • Inform Student Wellbeing , Head of Student Wellbeing Service 85870
  • Inform Registrar / PVC -Teaching and Learning / DVC / Press Office where applicable

If an incident occurs on a weekend the normal emergency procedure, agreed and coordinated by University Security, applies.

Student Mobility and Integration Team Staff will undertake to ensure that the student’s Next of Kin are informed (if Next of Kin did not report the incident). Before leaving all students participating in an exchange must submit an Emergency Details Contact Form which gives the Student Mobility and Integration Team permission to contact next of kin in an emergency. This information can be found in the student’s individual information which is kept in the Student Mobility and Integration Team filing cabinets, which are clearly marked as Erasmus etc.

Student Mobility and Integration Team staff endeavours to determine whether a known member of University staff is in the relevant country/region/city and if so, we will contact them to ask to assist on the ground if needed. (Check Erasmus Staff Mobility and Overseas Recruitment Trip data to identify staff) Student Mobility and Integration Team staff will continue to liaise with the above listed University departments to ensure that the student and family received all of the relevant advice and support they may require.

As part of their policy the University’s Insurance Company utilise the specialist services of RED24 when incidents require so. These services include specialist security services as well as providing on the ground assistance for individuals who are in a potentially life threatening situation. This includes situations caused by natural disasters, rioting, terrorist activity etc. If a person is missing, a missing person’s response would be undertaken to locate the individual.