Health and Wellbeing

Your Health and Wellbeing are important to us and we want to ensure that students get the correct support. 

Find the information you need on our services on this page.

It is important that students are able to access health services whilst studying at the University of South Wales. Once enrolled, all students should register with USW Health Service.

USW Health Service provide free advice and support to manage and prevent health issues from worsening and impacting on your studies. These may include pre-existing health conditions, minor injuries and wound management. The Health Service can also provide information and advice on all forms of contraception and sexual health problems.

USW Health Service is a nurse-led service that forms part of your overall healthcare provision, alongside your GP, Pharmacist, Dentist and the NHS.

It is important that any student who has moved away from home also registers with a GP surgery in the local area, especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition that requires regular medication. Advice on this varies depending on where you are living.

The Wellbeing Service provides students with an opportunity to talk through any difficulties they are experiencing in confidence.  

We offer students an impartial, non-judgemental space to explore their situation and consider options for addressing or managing their mental health and well-being. 

The Disability Service provides information, advice and guidance and co-ordinates support for USW students who have disabilities, including physical, sensory, mental health or unseen disabilities, specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia) and autism.

We recommend that new students make contact with our service at the earliest opportunity so that we can ensure that appropriate adjustments and support are in place from the start of your course.

It is important that you ensure that your vaccinations are up to date before you start university. You can do this by contacting your home GP (doctor).

Being up to date with your vaccinations is important for everyone, but even more so for students starting university who will be meeting, mixing and living with lots of new people. Universities can be hot spots for measles, mumps, and meningococcal disease as they present the perfect opportunity for infections to spread. 

You should contact your GP surgery before you leave for university if you are not sure if you have received any of these vaccinations. For further information on how to get vaccinations please visit our vaccination page: Vaccinations | University of South Wales.

We recommend that you check that you have had the following vaccinations:

Meningitis ACWY

The Meningitis ACWY Vaccination protects against meningitis and septicaemia caused by four meningoccocal strains - Men W, A, C and Y.  The vaccination is free to all first year students under the age of 25.

We advise all first year students that are 25 or under to contact their home GP to get the Meningitis ACWY vaccination at least 2 weeks before starting University. 

Any student who hasn't had their vaccination prior to starting, should contact the USW Health Service as soon as possible.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella

MMR is a safe and effective combined vaccine that protects against 3 separate illnesses – measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) – in a single injection. The full course of MMR vaccination requires 2 doses. This NHS leaflet tells you about MMR vaccination.

Mumps outbreaks are common, especially in teenagers and young people. It's especially important for teenagers starting University to be up-to-date with the MMR vaccine as they are at higher risk of mumps.