Mental Health Nursing

Our Mental Health Nursing courses rank UK 1st overall in their subject field (The Guardian University Guide, 2026).

The relationship between a person with a mental illness and their nurse is central to helping them back to mental health. On this course, you learn safe, effective nursing care that meets the needs of those with a mental health problem. It also teaches you to adapt your skills to individual situations, keeping the service user and their family at the centre of your care. Your learning is practice based, with 50% of your time in settings such as hospitals, prisons, residential centres and service users’ homes.

Course Accreditation/Industry Endorsement

• All our Nursing courses are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). On successful completion of your course, you can register with the NMC as a mental health nurse.

Facilities and Specialist Equipment

• Access to the latest medical/health equipment and facilities at regional hospitals and community health settings during placements.

• At our Luton campus, a new, fully immersive simulation floor situated in our modern STEM building, taking you from mock home and hospital for hands-on experience of a range of settings.

• Simulation wards with a range of medical-grade training mannequins to tackle real-life scenarios in a safe and supported environment.

• For students based with Oxford Health Foundation Trust in Aylesbury, we have a three-storey building with simulation ward; classrooms; library; social learning spaces; and computer study facilities.

Partnerships and Collaborations

• To ensure your learning meets the benchmark set for care providers, our healthcare courses have been developed in collaboration with regional healthcare providers and health authorities.

Your Student Experience

• Our Mental Health Nursing courses rank 2nd in their subject area for ‘value added’ progression - how students’ entry qualifications compare with their degree results (Guardian, 2024).

• Our Aylesbury campus is situated at Stoke Mandeville Hospital so you can fully immerse yourself in the hospital environment.

• Our lecturers are all experienced registered nurses and have published widely in their field.

• We deliver predominantly face-to-face teaching so your tutors are on site to support you while you get to meet and exchange ideas with other healthcare students.

• Clinical specialists from our partnership trusts come to campus to support your learning so your studies are underpinned by the latest research and practice.

• Our strong links with regional healthcare providers mean you can secure a local practice placement anywhere where our Trust partners have services in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

• Mental Health Nursing, Adult Nursing and Midwifery students gain a wider range of expertise through general units taught by tutors from all three courses.

• On placement, you undertake a mix of early, late, long-day and night shifts to ensure you experience typical shift patterns for a healthcare professional.