{"id":7851,"date":"2026-07-10T11:58:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/?p=7851"},"modified":"2026-07-10T12:17:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T11:17:55","slug":"principal-defends-staff-support-framework-amid-health-and-wellbeing-crisis-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/07\/10\/principal-defends-staff-support-framework-amid-health-and-wellbeing-crisis-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Principal defends staff support framework amid &#8220;health and wellbeing crisis&#8221; claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>By Hannah-Rose Lloyd<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">University of Aberdeen Principal Peter Edwards has cautioned <strong>against<\/strong> discussing suicide after being questioned over the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/05\/15\/remember-nicola-do-not-make-the-same-mistake\/\">staff deaths in 1988.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">His comments come as the University and College Union (UCU) has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/03\/12\/we-are-not-only-fighting-for-our-jobs-we-are-fighting-for-each-other\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">described<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the situation facing staff as a \u201cHealth and wellbeing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">crisis\u201d. Over 110 roles at the university are at risk due to the University\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2025\/10\/21\/large-scale-transformation-plan-to-consider-all-aspects-of-university-operations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adapting for Continued Success Programme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Concerns over the impact of the University\u2019s current financial difficulties on staff have raised comparisons with <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the turmoil of the 1980s<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which saw redundancies and department closures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three University lecturers, named Dr Nicola Mackie, Dr Donald Byrne and Richard Hallett, died by suicide in 1988. In a letter seen by <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mackie\u2019s mother cited the cause of her death as her sense of responsibility to the classics department at the university.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\"><a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/05\/15\/remember-nicola-do-not-make-the-same-mistake\/\"><strong>Read More: \u201cRemember Nicola. Do not make the same mistake\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Principal Edwards joined the university just months after the death of the lectures and the closing of the classics and physics department. In an exclusive interview with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Professor Edwards remembered that his \u201cacademic area, computing science, when I joined the university was in expansion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt had just received a significant investment to grow the department. We expanded the number of staff in computing science.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edwards defended the measures in place to protect staff, saying senior management \u201ccontinue to spend a great deal of time\u201d considering the impact of the programme on staff wellbeing and morale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThat has been built into all the considerations around the programme\u201d, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Principal said the University takes safeguarding staff \u201cincredibly seriously\u201d, citing the Health and Safety Committee, which includes trade union representation and regularly discusses staff wellbeing and stress.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7854\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7854\" style=\"width: 511px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-7854\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-300x173.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"511\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-300x173.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-768x443.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-728x420.jpeg 728w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-150x87.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908-696x402.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Hannah-1--e1783680903908.jpeg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7854\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Principal Pete Edwards defends the university&#8217;s wellbeing resources &#8211; Source: Zinat Moslemzadeh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He noted the University\u2019s \u201cextensive support framework\u201d for staff and students, with available services regularly signposted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Principal maintained that the support available to staff today distinguishes the current situation from the University\u2019s previous financial crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe\u2019re in a very, very different world now,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe support that exists at the University for our staff is totally different to the support that would have existed 40 years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dan Cutts, UCU co-chair for Aberdeen and university lecturer, has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/06\/29\/university-cuts-takes-its-toil-on-staff\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">told <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that \u201cNothing has happened to address the underlying concerns that staff have been raising for months.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\"><a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/06\/29\/university-cuts-takes-its-toil-on-staff\/\"><strong>Read more: University cuts takes its toil on staff<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One staff member has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/04\/21\/compulsory-redundancies-possible-in-next-months-as-21-phd-courses-axed\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cited<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that &#8220;<\/span>I do casework for the union, and we see that mental health has been a big issue for a long time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/04\/22\/withheld-university-survey-reveals-staff-morale-plummeted-by-35\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">revealed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that a survey that was removed from the annual reports showed a 35% decrease in staff satisfaction in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year, a Governance Efficiency Review into the structures at the university<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2025\/11\/07\/toxic-staff-culture-exposed-in-bombshell-governance-efficiency-review\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> found that<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> there was a \u201ctoxic\u201d staff culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Referring to the deaths of the three academics, Edwards said: \u201cI would caution everyone against using language talking about suicide\u201d because of the potential impact on individual wellbeing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He added: \u201cTalking about suicide, for example, can be triggering for individuals\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edwards declined to comment on correspondence from Dr Mackie\u2019s mother linking her daughter\u2019s death to pressures surrounding cuts to the Classics department.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7853\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7853\" style=\"width: 459px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/05\/15\/remember-nicola-do-not-make-the-same-mistake\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-7853\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Article-unclear-who-to-attribute-to-300x162.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"459\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Article-unclear-who-to-attribute-to-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Article-unclear-who-to-attribute-to-150x81.png 150w, https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-for-Article-unclear-who-to-attribute-to.png 442w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7853\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The three lecturers that died in 1988 &#8211; Source: Unknown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He said it would \u201cnot be appropriate\u201d for him to discuss the \u201cspecifics of an individual case\u201d and \u201ccircumstances that happened 40 years ago\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Principal\u2019s comments came days before his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2026\/07\/09\/a-rolling-disaster-principals-message-to-staff-reflects-alternate-reality-as-term-closes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">end-of-year summer message <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to University staff, which celebrated progress across the institution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The message acknowledged a period of \u201cimportant changes\u201d which could feel \u201cdifficult\u201d and \u201cunsettling\u201d, but made no explicit reference to recent industrial action, proposed job losses, or the University\u2019s financial difficulties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edwards highlighted his \u2018Conversations with the Principal\u2019 sessions, saying meetings had helped him understand \u201cwhat is working well and where challenges remain\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He said issues raised by staff, including mental health support and accessibility, are already informing University action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can listen to the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie&#8217;s <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">exclusive interview with Principal Pete Edwards here: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2bLJtQJhoOP76NPPmygwPx?si=RmU6O5l_TRWjAUaS8M3-Dw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2bLJtQJhoOP76NPPmygwPx?si=RmU6O5l_TRWjAUaS8M3-Dw<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Hannah-Rose Lloyd University of Aberdeen Principal Peter Edwards has cautioned against discussing suicide after being questioned over the staff deaths in 1988. His comments come as the University and College Union (UCU) has described the situation facing staff as a \u201cHealth and wellbeing crisis\u201d. Over 110 roles at the university are at risk due [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":7852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":75,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[254,2050,2049,1426,1994,1737,1214,1279,805,183],"wf_post_folders":[181],"class_list":{"0":"post-7851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-aberdeen","9":"tag-hannah-rose-lloyd","10":"tag-nicola-mackie","11":"tag-pete-edwards","12":"tag-peters-principal","13":"tag-principal-edwards","14":"tag-the-gaudie","15":"tag-ucu","16":"tag-university","17":"tag-university-of-aberdeen"},"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Gaudie Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/gaudie-staff\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-for-Hannah-Article--e1783680957163-300x157.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">News<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Aberdeen<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Hannah-Rose Lloyd<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Nicola Mackie<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">pete edwards<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Peter&#039;s Principal<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">principal Edwards<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">the gaudie<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">UCU<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">university<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/news\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">University of Aberdeen<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Aberdeen<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Hannah-Rose Lloyd<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Nicola Mackie<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">pete edwards<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Peter&#039;s Principal<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">principal Edwards<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">the gaudie<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">UCU<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">university<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">University of Aberdeen<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 months ago","modified":"Updated 2 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 10 July 2026","modified":"Updated on 10 July 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 10 July 2026 11:58","modified":"Updated on 10 July 2026 12:17"},"featured_img_caption":"Fred Byrne and Innes Paton interviewing Pete Edwards for Gettin Rowdy with The Gaudie - Source: Zinat  Moslemzadeh ","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7851"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7861,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851\/revisions\/7861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7851"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=7851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}