Calls to mental health helplines and prescriptions for antidepressants have reached a high level, while access to potentially life-saving oral medications has fallen at the time of the epidemic. coronavirus transmission, a Guardian study has found.
More than 6 million people in England received antipsychotic medication in the three months to September, the highest number on record.
This is thought to be due to online counseling services, which some doctors deem inappropriate for certain patients, while some patients were willing to offer face-to-face help. seek or put additional pressure on health services.
Concerns have been raised that essential early intervention treatment has not been provided, with experts saying that the longer people wait for appropriate help “the harder and more complicated their problems and life can be”.
Lucy Schonegevel, deputy director of campaigns at the mental health charity Rethink, said there was a “high risk of prescription drugs being prescribed without any support”, saying such medication should be ” go hand in hand ”with treatment.
Her concerns were raised by mental health campaigner Natasha Devon, who said: “People go to their GPs with symptoms of mental illness and are sent away with a bag of medication, after placed on an 18-month waiting list. ”
Dr Esther Cohen-Tovée, chair of the British Psychological Association’s clinical psychology department, said: stress and anguish for the whole population. This is all the more worrying when there has been a dramatic increase in the number of antipsychotic medications. ”
She said that psychological help can “be a lifesaver” and “the longer people wait, the worse and more complicated their problems and life can be”.
Cohen-Tovée said there was an urgent need for increased resources for psychological services and if they were not provided the consequences would be “devastating”. She said they would “increase the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic itself… hindering our efforts to rehabilitate individuals, families and communities. ”.
Dr Gary Howsam, vice-chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said his members had seen an increase in the number of patients attending with mental health concerns, including anxiety and low emotions, during the pandemic.
“While some of these symptoms may be mild, for others they may be risk factors for self-harm and suicidal behavior and, therefore, GPs are taking the concerns. that’s very important.
“An increase in antidepressant prescribing over the pandemic is not surprising, given the difficult conditions that people live in and should not automatically be seen as a negative,” he said. that this shows that those who are struggling are still seeking help.
graphic
601,530 referrals were made to the Psychological Remedies Access Improvement program in the six months to the end of August, according to the latest available data, 235,000 fewer than in 2019, a 28% drop.
Jobs for the worst cases also fell. Hospital attendance across 10 mental health, psychology and psychiatric departments fell 9% in the seven months to the end of September and initial appointments fell 26%. An NHS spokesman said when non-hungry cases were introduced the discharge was less severe.
Experts said the fall was due to a combination of some people not receiving appropriate support, for example, group therapy, how services were going online, trust among some to come forward due to concerns Covid and service interruption during the first wave.
The numbers point to an unmet need at a time when higher mental health pressures caused by Covid include loneliness, lockout, illness, death and concerns about financial security and job loss. In July, the Office for National Statistics reported that the number of adults in Britain with depression has doubled during a pandemic coronavirus infection.
There are also indications of Covid’s direct effects on mental health. A recent study found that one in five people who received Covid-19 were diagnosed with a mental disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of being tested positive for the virus. .
There are indications that the private and charitable sectors are accommodating some of the demand.
A spokesman for Beauly, a private mental health provider, said there was a quiet time at the height of the lock but since then there has been a “significant increase in referrals to our private emergency services”, with a 70% increase in private referrals in October compared to October 2019.
However, Scott Weich, a professor at the University of Sheffield’s mental health research unit, said the current situation was not just the result of Covid’s pandemic: “Years of hardship have led to levels of mental morbidity. mental health and, at the same time, less access to and accessibility to care.
“It is clear that it will take time to get back to where we were before the pandemic, not to mention where we should be in terms of delivering high quality mental health services. ”
An NHS England spokesman said some people were initially concerned about coming forward for care but that mental health services remain open and referrals have returned to levels close to pre-Covid.
“Spoken speaking sessions that the public can self-refer to for both face-to-face and online sessions and referrals are now rapidly expanding, while the establishment of emergency service helplines 24/7 at all ages, and self-help websites like all Mind Matters can also help those who are going through a hard time. ”
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the national lifeline for suicide prevention is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the emergency support service is Lifeline 13 11 14. Other international helplines are available at www.befrienders.org.