A MENTAL health crisis has hit Scots universities as the number of lecturers and staff signed has soared by 40% in four years.

An analysis of university staff well-being across 16 Scottish universities, shows that one higher education establishment has seen absences quadrupling between 2017/18 and 2021/22.

The absence rate has been described as "utterly damning" by Mary Senior, Scotland official of the University and College Union, which is in the middle of a dispute over pay, working conditions and pensions.

Yesterday, some 8,000 staff at 17 universities in Scotland, and 150 across the UK, embarked on a three-day stoppage yesterday (Tuesday) on the third week of a new wave of industrial action.

It has emerged that over 6700 university staff have missed work as a result of poor mental health or stress over the period.

And the Herald has learned that the numbers have shot up in 2021/22 when there were 1498 who were signed off. In 2017/18 there were 1067.

The number needing to take time off was at 1227 in 2020/21, meaning those with wellbeing issues rose by a over a fifth in a year.

Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has seen the most rapid increases with absences rising from 33 in 2017/18 to 131 in 2021/22.

The Herald: Researchers at Heriot-Watt University made the claim

At the Scotland's Rural College the numbers signed off more than doubled over the period from 18 to 46.

And mental health absences at the University of Edinburgh nearly doubled from 240 in 2017/18 to 452 in 2021/22.

It comes as it emerged that some 6,670 teachers and school staff were absent from work for mental-health reasons in 2021/2022.

Official data has also shown that 300,000 staff days have been lost in the past two years in Scotland’s schools and nurseries as a result of mental ill health.

And a further study in October revealed that the number of students seeking mental health help at university had tripled in 10 years.

Across 10 Scottish universities 14,920 students applied for help with their mental health in 2020/21.

The University of Edinburgh reported an increase of 242% over the decade, while Edinburgh Napier University said it had seen a rise of 324%.

The Scottish Conservatives which has carried out research into the depth of the mental health absences in universities said that the findings were “extremely worrying”, claiming that university staff have been “pushed to the limit” under the SNP.

Research by the charity Education Support in 2021 showed that over half of UK university staff were showing probable signs of depression. "We know that our members’ mental health is suffering due to their working conditions: UCU is currently in dispute with university employers over unmanageable workloads, job insecurity, along with pay and pensions cuts," said Ms Senior.

“University staff having to work an average two additional days each week is simply unsustainable.

"University principals need to properly value and support their staff, so as they can deliver the teaching, research and student support that is fundamental to the university sector.”

The last dispute stoppage came on Thursday and Friday and the union is planning a further 15 days over February and March in the dispute over pay, working conditions and pensions.

The action comes after an overwhelming 80% of members who voted rejected the latest offer from employers. Over 30,000 UCU members across the UK responded to UCU's online poll which was open for just four days.

Scottish Conservative shadow higher education minister Pam Gosal MSP, said: “These figures are extremely worrying – they point to a mental health crisis in Scottish universities on the SNP’s watch.

“We have already seen an alarming number of stress-related absences among school staff, and it seems that these pressures and strains are also very prevalent in higher education. University staff are being pushed to the limit and SNP ministers are simply not giving them the support they badly need."

It is feared the depth of the mental health crisis may be even greater, as the analysis did not include data from the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde.

Ms Gosal added: “With lecturers, teachers and university staff equally scunnered, it is easy to forget that Nicola Sturgeon claimed that education would be her ‘number one’ priority.

“The First Minister asked to be judged on her education record, but these statistics show just how shameful this record is."

A Universities and Colleges Employers' Association spokesman said: "At a national level the Higher Education sector strives to achieve wellbeing and mental health objectives in a number of ways, including through UCEA as the HE employers' representative to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and its coordination of the HE Safety and Health Forum with the sector trade unions and HSE and through Universities UK’s Mental Health in HE advisory group. We hope that HE staff feel empowered to seek help when they need it from their employers.”

Minister for higher and further education Jamie Hepburn said: "We know the period of lockdown and the ongoing cost of living crisis has had a significant impact on mental health. The Scottish Government has been working with stakeholders, including employer groups and mental health organisations, to promote mentally healthy workplaces.

“Universities as employers have a responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of their staff, including appropriate mental health support.”

The latest Higher Education Student Statistics show a record number of Scottish domiciled students studying at Scotland’s universities, rising from 180,170 in 2020-21 to 183,025 in 2021-22.

There was also a record number of full-time Scottish domiciled first degree entrants recorded, with 5,595 Scots from Scotland’s most deprived areas entering university. This is an 41% increase since the establishment of the Commission on Widening Access.

Scottish universities also saw a record number of students qualifying in 2021-22, increasing by over 13% - from 82,850 in 2020-21 to 93,775 a year later.