No doubt you are all aware that the global pandemic’s epicentre has shifted to India, leaving healthcare services struggling to deal with the influx of Covid patients. We offer our condolences to all of those who have lost loved ones and our thoughts are with those who have loved ones living in the areas affected.

We know this may be a really difficult time for some of our students. There are many ways in which the University can support you if you’ve been affected in any way:

• Wellbeing Support Services – contact the team via the Wellbeing Portal, view their weekly wellbeing themes or join their masterclasses and skills sessions.
• The Chaplaincy offer Bereavement Support. You are welcome to contact a Chaplain or fill out their short enquiry form. You can also access Prayer Facilities.
• Speak to your Personal Tutor especially if you are concerned about the impact of Covid on your academic performance
• Mitigating Circumstances - You may also be dealing with the added pressure of preparing for exams and assessments, and need additional support. The Covid Mitigation Package details the measures in place to mitigate the impact of any potential disruption caused by the pandemic. Again, you can discuss mitigating circumstances and any questions you may have with your Personal Tutor.
• Hardship funds - If your circumstances have changed and you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the Student Funding Officein the first instance for information, advice, and guidance.
• Contact the Immigration team for advice and guidance if you are worried about the impact of continuing to study remotely this academic year on your visa, or you have any questions about the Graduate Route.
• Throughout term 3, if you'd like to speak to fellow students, you can join the Tea and Talk events in the Global Connections Community for informal chats on a range of topics, including a different wellbeing theme every Wednesday.

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How Warwick is supporting in the crisis

We can be proud that the Warwick Medical School (WMS) stands shoulder to shoulder with our regional healthcare community at this time and through WMS expertise and networks, we will do all we can to support this regional effort for India. We wanted to let you know that the WMS Dean, Sudhesh Kumar, and our NHS Trust partners are working to ensure that equipment, resources and support get to the places that need it, working with partners in India and with the South Asian NHS leaders’ network to coordinate a response to the request for help. The strategy includes:

• Support and collation of requests from the Indian embassy for medicines and equipment;
• Peer to peer support by a buddy system via the embassy with hospitals in India;
• Directing charitable giving towards charities that can ensure aid reaches those who need it most;
• The creation and circulation of effective messages in India that worked in the UK, to reduce infection rates and improve vaccination take up.

While it is certainly not our place to promote charitable giving, we know that people in our community may wish to contribute to the relief effort but not know how to. We have been advised that the Red Cross in India is a good way to quickly get relief to those who need it most.

Best wishes
Stuart Croft
Vice-Chancellor