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Found 1,152 results
  1. News Article
    Deaf people are twice as likely to suffer mental health problems than those with hearing, a report has found. The All Wales Deaf Mental Health and Wellbeing Group said help in Wales was behind the rest of the UK and it wants to see significant improvements. It also described the inequalities faced by deaf people trying to access mental health support as "really frustrating". The Welsh government said it would consider the findings of the report. Ffion Griffiths, 23, from Neath, has been deaf since birth, and accessing child and adolescent mental health services in Wales has been a problem over the years. She had to travel to England to get the support she needed. "It's really frustrating because deaf people in England have more opportunities," she said. It means they can be treated and get better quicker but for us, how can we do that?" "How can we expect to recover if we don't have access to the services or any pathways for us to follow to get the treatment that we need in Wales?" Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 December 2021
  2. News Article
    Nearly 2,000 children and teenagers have been left waiting for specialist mental health care for at least a year in Scotland, according to official figures branded “damning” by psychiatrists. New NHS Scotland data has revealed that, at the end of September, there were 1,978 patients who had been waiting 52 weeks or more for a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) appointment. That is more than double the 959 young people who were waiting that long the previous September – despite efforts by Nicola Sturgeon’s government to meet its own 2023 target for 90% of young people to receive help within 18 weeks. Ahead of the Holyrood Budget on Thursday, the figures prompted calls from service providers for a “radical transformation of our mental health services” enacted with the same zeal as the response to the coronavirus pandemic and with a focus on earlier interventions to prevent young people “giving up on their futures”. According to the latest figures, there were a total of 11,816 young people waiting for an appointment by the end of September – just 78% of them who had been seen within 18 weeks. Dr Helen Smith, chair of the CAMHS faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said the long waits for help highlighted the “many problems” with these services “across the length and breadth of the country”. “The fact that our vulnerable children and young people are still waiting to be seen is, frankly, not good enough,” Dr Smith said. “We need them to be able to access the right support at the right time, from the correct services.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 December 2021
  3. News Article
    Psychiatry is facing a ‘double whammy’ of chronic consultant shortages where patient care is being rationed and under-pressure doctors are working with ‘hands tied behind their backs’, a leading clinician has warned. As the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ official 2021 census reveals consultant vacancies are up by more than a third (35 per cent) since 2017 with nearly one in 10 posts going unfilled, current Dean Professor Subodh Dave told HSJ the current situation impacts “very adversely” on achieving NHS long-term plan goals. In an exclusive interview, the Derbyshire-based liaison psychiatrist told HSJ one in four (24%) of the country’s 7,782 consultant posts are not substantive and are currently dominated by locums, typically on shorter-term contracts. Professor Dave said current workforce gaps are having a knock-on effect with “inevitable rationing” of patient care to keep services running. “If you design a service that has to meet NICE standards then clearly you need the workforce to deliver that standard of care,” he added. “To do that with your hands tied behind your back is frankly impossible.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 November 2021
  4. News Article
    A patient who suffered internal bleeding from surgery following an incorrect diagnosis, said he has "nightmares" about how he was treated. The public services ombudsman for Wales said it was "completely avoidable" and recommended health officials make a redress payment of £10,000. The man was initially referred to Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales with appendicitis. But, after a number of tests and scans, it was wrongly determined he had Crohn's disease, and colon surgery was recommended which led to a series of complications. The man, known as Mr D in the ombudsman's report, suffered internal bleeding from the initial surgery and required a stoma, despite being told the chances of that were "very, very slim". He also developed a hernia which required further surgery, and a mesh to be inserted. "I try and do things that wouldn't have been a problem for me years ago, and find I struggle," he said. "Sometimes I wake up still in pain from some of the scars. I sometimes have nightmares." The man, who has Asperger's syndrome, also said it was not taken into proper consideration during consultation. "I don't think there's a lot of things where people do take into account neurodiversity," he said. Ombudsman Nick Bennett called the case "regrettable" after investigating the man's complaint. "Physicians responsible for Mr D's care should have employed a watch and wait approach in which his condition would probably have settled without surgical treatment," he said. "Instead, Mr D, a vulnerable individual, faced completely avoidable trauma of unnecessary surgery and post-treatment complications - a trauma which saw him seek mental health support." Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it accepted the findings. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 December 2021
  5. News Article
    More than half of England has limited or no access to a ‘gold standard’ eating disorder programme proven to halve the need for intensive treatment, a year after NHS England funded 18 pilot projects in the wake of five women’s anorexia deaths, HSJ analysis reveals. Last November NHSE announced it would scale up the first episode rapid intervention in eating disorders (FREED) service – a successful scheme shown to help people aged 16-25 in London – in 19 initial areas before promoting it country-wide. The brainchild of King’s College London’s Professor Ulrike Schmidt, FREED sees teenagers and young adults living with a condition for less than three years being contacted within 48 hours of seeking help – with treatment beginning as soon as two weeks later. Now it has emerged that just 16 of England’s mental health trusts, out of more than 54, have fully adopted the FREED service, which experts say has halved the need for intensive treatment from 12.5% to 6.5% in early pilots – saving the NHS around £4,400 per patient. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 December 2021
  6. News Article
    The NHS is forecasting there will be 230,000 new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in England as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, official figures show. COVID-19 has increased exposure to events that could cause PTSD, an anxiety disorder triggered by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It says the NHS is already facing the biggest backlog of those waiting for mental health help in its history. Forecasts cited by the college from the NHS strategy unit, which carries out NHS analysis, show there could be as many as 230,000 new PTSD referrals between 2020/21 and 2022/23 in England, which suggests a rise of about 77,000 cases a year on average. Prof Neil Greenberg, expert editor of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ new resource tool for patients with PTSD, said: “It’s a common misunderstanding that only people in the armed forces can develop PTSD – anyone exposed to a traumatic event is at risk. “It’s vital that anyone exposed to traumatic events is properly supported at work and home. Early and effective support can reduce the likelihood of PTSD and those affected should be able to access evidence-based treatment in a timely manner. Especially our NHS staff who are at increased risk as a result of this unprecedented crisis.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 December 2021
  7. News Article
    Referrals to mental health crisis services in England have increased by almost 75% ‘post-pandemic’, senior NHS leaders have revealed. Documents submitted to NHS England and Improvement’s November board meeting capture the scale of demand facing the sector, which national director Claire Murdoch described to fellow leaders as “huge”. Bed occupancy rates in adult acute services have remained above the recommended ‘safe’ level of 85% since June 2020, performance reports suggest. Above that threshold, experts warn that patient safety, out of area placements, and surge demand risks are likely to increase. Ms Murdoch wrote in her report to the board that between 180,000 and 200,000 calls per month were being fielded by covid-19 response crisis lines in the first quarter of 2021-22 — more than 6,000 each day. She added that there had been a 74% increase in referrals to crisis services ‘post-pandemic’: ”We’re now seeing huge demand and we’re back to pre-covid levels.” She said some people had not sought help during pandemic peak periods and this was leading to more severe demand." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 November 2021
  8. News Article
    One hundred people with learning disabilities and autism in England have been held in specialist hospitals for at least 20 years, the BBC has learned. The finding was made during an investigation into the case of an autistic man detained since 2001. Tony Hickmott's parents are fighting to get him housed in the community near them. Mr Hickmott's case is being heard at the Court of Protection - which makes decisions on financial or welfare matters for people who "lack mental capacity". Senior Judge Carolyn Hilder has described "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress in finding him the right care package which would enable him to live in the community. He lives in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) - designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It is a two-hours' drive from his family. This week, Judge Hilder lifted the anonymity order on Mr Hickmott's case - ruling it was in the public interest to let details be reported. She said he had been "detained for so long" partly down to a "lack of resources". Like many young autistic people with a learning disability, Mr Hickmott struggled as he grew into an adult. In 2001, he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He is now 44. In addition to the 100 patients, including Mr Hickmott, who have been held for more than 20 years - there are currently nearly 2,000 other people with learning difficulties and/or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England. In 2015, the Government promised "homes not hospitals" when it launched its Transforming Care programme in the wake of the abuse and neglect scandal uncovered by the BBC at Winterbourne View specialist hospital near Bristol. But data shows the programme has had minimal impact. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 November 2021
  9. News Article
    Millions of people with mild depression in England should be offered therapy, exercise, mindfulness or meditation before antidepressants, according to the first new NHS guidelines in more than a decade. Under draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends the “menu of treatment options” be offered to patients by health professionals before medication is considered. Currently, those with mild depression are offered antidepressants or a high-intensity psychological intervention, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The shake-up forms part of the first new recommendations to identify, treat and manage depression in adults since 2009. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), about one in six (17%) adults experienced some form of depression this summer. The rate is higher than before the pandemic, when 10% of adults experienced it. Younger adults and women are more likely to be affected, the ONS found. A 2019 review showed 17% of the adult population in England (7.3 million people) had been prescribed antidepressants in the year 2017-18. Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the centre for guidelines at NICE, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us the impact depression has had on the nation’s mental health. People with depression need these evidence-based guideline recommendations available to the NHS, without delay.” Nav Kapur, professor of psychiatry and population health at the University of Manchester and chair of the guideline committee, said: “As a committee we have drawn up recommendations that we hope will have a real impact on people who are suffering from depression and their carers. In particular we’ve emphasised the role of patient choice – suggesting that practitioners should offer people a choice of evidence-based treatments and understanding that not every treatment will suit every person.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 November 2021
  10. News Article
    Becoming a father can be the happiest time in a man's life, but for some it can bring unexpected feelings of anxiety, stress and guilt. Until recently, mental health concerns for new dads were little understood and, often, went unaired. But some men who have experienced postnatal depression hope telling their stories will encourage others to open up. When Stephen's daughter was born five years ago he knew he was meant to feel happy but instead began to think his wife and newborn child might be better off without him. "You don't get a chance to sit back, take it in, relax and enjoy it," he said. "I'd come home on a weekend after a long week, tired out, and my wife was back at work, working weekends." "It just affects you, you don't see each other, you don't have the chance to enjoy it, and all the stress and anxiety builds up. I got to such a low point I considered my family were better off without me." An international study in 2010 suggested that as many as one in 10 men struggle with postnatal depression (PND). More recently, in 2015, a survey by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) found one in three new fathers had concerns about their mental health. The NCT has called for more recognition around mental health issues affecting new dads. It has set up Parents in Mind: Partners Project, which offers support to everyone who has an active role raising a child under two. "Becoming a parent is an emotional rollercoaster," said Catherine Briars, who runs the project in St Helens. "Fathers sometimes feel uncomfortable opening up about their feelings but we encourage them to do so if they're struggling. It's often the first step to recovering and regaining good mental health." She said they encourage men to talk to someone they trust or their GP. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 November 2021
  11. News Article
    Suicidal thoughts are three times as common in those living with a spinal cord injury in the UK, according to new research And yet, it’s estimated that only one third of people living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) are getting access to mental health support, and of those, 68% do not feel that support services available are able to meet their needs. These alarming statistics are taken from a new report, ‘It’s not just physical’ which was presented to parliament yesterday (17 November). The report shines a light on the mental health problems faced by people with spinal cord injuries in the UK today. It's calling on the NHS, government and other health policy makers to provide better mental health support services for people with spinal cord injuries – and their unpaid carers – as a matter of urgency. Nik Hartley, Spinal Injuries Association CEO said: “We are at risk of failing thousands of people in the UK living with a spinal cord injury. Our new report highlights that psychological damage caused by a SCI is, at best, considered as an afterthought, and at worst, completely ignored by the medical profession. We need urgent action and for services to be sufficiently specialised to support the thousands of people living with this type of injury before it is too late.” Read full story Source: Spinal Injuries Association, 17 November 2021
  12. News Article
    The mother of a man who took his own life said bereaved families would be left "in limbo" by a mental health trust's serious incident report delays. Local health officials have raised concerns over the "timeliness" of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust's (CPFT) reports. Maria Nowshadi, whose son James died in 2020, said they should be done quickly "so there's answers for families". Ms Nowshadi said: "These investigations should happen in a timely, quick manner so there's answers for families, but also in case there's any learning to be had... to make sure there's no further deaths that happen in the same way, because of any errors within the system." She said when the original date the report was due to be completed passed, she "reached the stage where I was looking at the mailbox every day". She said she told a patient liaison officer: "This is actually starting to affect my mental health. The chief nurse at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Carol Anderson, said there were "concerns... [around] serious incident processes and reporting" at CPFT. A CCG spokeswoman added they had agreed an extension with CPFT "for the completion of serious incident reports due to additional pressures due to the pandemic and staff redeployment". "Our overall concern is the timeliness of serious incident reporting, so that we can ensure that learning is put in place as soon as possible," she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 November 2021
  13. News Article
    A patient suffering a mental health crisis was made to sleep overnight on the floor of an NHS hospital because it had no spare beds, The Independent has learned. On Sunday, Mr Ben Ashcroft was given a mattress on the floor at Barnsley Hospital where he had been admitted after waiting for 36 hours at a different mental health hospital. He described the situation as being “treated like a prisoner”, adding: “An animal is treated better than this. I’m poorly and you think this acceptable to put me in room like this. This all I have in room. Rather be in prison.” Mr Ashcroft was detained, earlier in the week, under the Mental Health Act at Calderdale Royal Hospital, in West Yorkshire. But this hospital had no beds available and transferred him to another site in Barnsley where he was taken to a room with just a mattress. In a statement to The Independent, the trust said demand for beds over the weekend was “exceptionally high” adding “with this level of demand we took short-term measures to ensure all our service users were kept safe”. Read full story Source: 15 November 2021
  14. News Article
    The COVID-19 crisis triggered high levels of anxiety and depression among doctors in the UK, Italy and Spain, a new study has found The research of 5,000 survey responses, across the three countries, found Italian doctors were most likely to have suffered during the crisis last year. The study, published in PLOS ONE, measured the mental wellbeing of doctors in Catalonia (Spain), Italy and the UK during June, November and December 2020. It found that around one in four medical doctors in Italy had experienced symptoms of anxiety in June and December 2020, with around one in five reporting symptoms of depression over the same period. In Catalonia around 16% of doctors reported anxiety and around 17% experienced depression. In the UK around 12% of doctors reported anxiety and around 14% had symptoms of depression. The study is among the first cross-country analysis of mental wellbeing among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the first to focus on medical doctors. Across all countries, female doctors and doctors under 60 were more likely to have anxiety or depression. Professor Quintana-Domeque, professor of economics at the University of Exeter Business School, who carried out the study said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been classified as a traumatic event, with healthcare workers arguably having the most direct and longest exposure to this disease." “The results of this study suggest that institutional support for healthcare workers, and in particular doctors, is important in protecting and promoting their mental health in the current and in future pandemics.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 November 2021
  15. News Article
    A mental health trust ‘scapegoated’ a psychiatrist over the death of a patient amid systemic issues, an employment tribunal has found. Judges called the conduct of two senior directors — one of whom is a current NHS trust medical director — into question after ruling they had colluded to scapegoat Bernadette McInerney for issues that would have damaged the trust’s reputation. Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust was found unanimously to have unfairly sacked and victimised Dr McInerney, a former consultant forensic psychiatrist at Rampton secure hospital, in a decision published last week. The judgement was critical of both Chris Packham, a GP at Rampton hospital, and NHFT’s then-executive medical director Julie Hankin, but it also strongly condemned the trust’s former executive director for forensic services Peter Wright. Dr Hankin is now medical director at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough FT. Read full article here (paywalled) Original source: Health Service Journal
  16. News Article
    Cases of psychosis have risen significantly in England during the pandemic, according to new NHS data. The number of people referred to mental health services for their first suspected episode of psychosis increased by 75% between April 2019 and April 2021, figures showed. The data, which has been analysed by the charity Rethink Mental Illness, showed that much of the increase in referrals has happened over the last year, after the first national lockdown. The charity, Rethink Mental Illness, said that the data offers some of the first concrete evidence of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the population. It is calling on the government to invest more in early intervention for psychosis to halt the further deterioration in people’s conditions. The NHS defines psychosis as “when people lose some contact with reality”. This could involve seeing or hearing things that other people cannot see or believing things that are not actually true. People experiencing symptoms of psychosis need to seek medical help very quickly and charity Rethink Mental Illness is campaigning to get people faster access to vital treatment. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021
  17. News Article
    People who suffer from the debilitating effects of long Covid should be offered psychiatric care, the first clinical guidance to be published on the subject recommends. The guidelines urge healthcare professionals to look out for signs that patients who continue to suffer symptoms of COVID-19 for weeks after contracting the virus are at risk of self-harm. In the new advice, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners, say people with ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 or suspected post-Covid 19 syndrome, whose symptoms last longer than 12 weeks, should be “urgently” referred for assessment if they have severe psychiatric symptoms or are at risk of self-harm or suicide. The guidelines state: “Follow relevant national or local guidelines on referral for people who have anxiety and mood disorders or other psychiatric symptoms. Consider referral for psychological therapies if they have common mental health symptoms, such as symptoms of mild anxiety and mild depression, or to a liaison psychiatry service if they have more complex needs (especially if they have a complex physical and mental health presentation).” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 18 December 2020
  18. News Article
    More people signed off sick with mental health problems during lockdown, analysis reveals. Millions of people expected to need help after effect of coronavirus on UK A GP fit note is issued after the first seven days of sickness absence if a doctor agrees the patient is too ill to work The proportion of people applying for fit notes from their GP for mental health reasons jumped 6% during lockdown in England, according to new research. It adds to growing concern the UK will see a surge in mental health problems as a result of the pandemic and the impact on society and the economy. It could be the first signs of increasing mental health illnesses since the pandemic started. The Centre for Mental Health think tank has warned the government needs to prepare for the aftermath of COVID-19. Its analysis, based on research into COVID-19 and the effects of other epidemics on mental health, predicts 8.5 million adults and 1.5 million children in England will need support for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders and other mental health difficulties in the coming months and years. That is the equivalent of 20 per cent of all adults and 15 per cent of all children. A third of patients would need help for the first time. Read full story Source: Independent, 6 December 2020
  19. News Article
    Across Britain, intensive care nurses and doctors are being pushed to their limits as they try to save lives from coronavirus. During 12-hour shifts in sweltering conditions, they are faced with technical and emotional challenges that many have never faced as they tackle a virus that has swept across the globe in a matter of days, threatening to kill tens of thousands in the UK. Britain has yet to even hit the peak of infections, but intensive care specialists are already asking how long they can keep working relentlessly. “We are trained for and used to dealing with difficult and emotional scenarios, but this is like a major incident that never ends,” says critical care nurse Karin Gerber. As an advanced nurse practitioner in critical care outreach, the 47-year-old sees patients in hospital who are getting sicker and may need to be admitted to intensive care. She says she has never seen anything “at this intensity”. The Royal London Hospital is at the forefront of the capital’s fight against the virus and has created more than 200 extra beds at its Whitechapel site in east London. They are filled with COVID-19 patients. Simon Richards, senior charge nurse at the Royal London’s critical care unit, tells The Independent: “In 20 years as a nurse this situation is by far the worst I have ever seen and totally unexpected, but the team spirit that people have shown has been amazing. “It’s extremely difficult, we are working so hard. The whole team is being pushed to their limit and you do wonder how long can this be sustained for? I wish we could see light at the end of the tunnel.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 November 2020
  20. News Article
    Mothers are being needlessly separated from their babies under strict hospital restrictions introduced to stop the spread of COVID-19, doctors and charities have warned. The measures preventing UK parents from staying with their babies when one or both require hospital treatment are causing trauma and increasing the risk of physical and mental health problems, it is claimed. Some parents of sick babies are also being barred from seeing their child in neonatal units, which is causing distress and preventing bonding. Campaigners have written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, to raise their concerns. They want hospitals to review these policies urgently and have called for a working group to draw up national standards to meet families’ needs during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 November 2020
  21. News Article
    "It's a full-time job that you can't quit. It's a massive burden that you didn't ask for, didn't expect." Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 19, Naomi, now 33, says she reached a point where she simply could not handle "the physical or mental challenges of diabetes any more", a condition known as "diabetes burnout". About 250,000 people in England have type 1 diabetes, which means the body cannot produce insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. It can lead to organ damage, eyesight problems and - in extreme cases - limb amputation. But for many there is also a significant psychological impact of learning to manage the condition. Naomi felt she could no longer bear testing her blood sugar levels many times each day to calculate how much insulin she needed to inject, even though she knew she was risking her long-term health and putting herself in extreme danger, at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can lead to a coma. She became so ill she was admitted to an eating disorder unit even though she was not struggling to eat. The head of the unit, Dr Carla Figueirdo, says of her diabetes patients: "These people are seriously unwell, seriously unwell. They are putting themselves at harm every day of their lives if they don't take their insulin." Naomi's consultant at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Dr Helen Partridge, says the psychological impact of a diabetes diagnosis should not be underestimated. The hospital is hosting one of two NHS England pilot projects looking at how to treat type 1 diabetes patients whose chronic illness affects their mental health. NHS England diabetes lead Prof Partha Kar says: "The NHS long-term plan commits strongly on getting mental and physical health together. If we do tackle these two together, it will help improve outcomes." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 November 2020
  22. News Article
    Eight months after phrases such as “stay at home,” “flatten the curve” and “social distancing” started to become part of our daily vocabulary, people are experiencing a type of burnout experts call COVID-19 fatigue. “By this point, we know people are tired — tired of missing family and friends, tired of not having a routine, of not going into the office,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Infectious Diseases. “Whatever disruptions to a person’s normal life have occurred, there is no denying the mental, physical and emotional toll people are experiencing. What we’ve learned — and what we keep learning — is how to combat burnout in safe ways that minimize the spread of the virus and enable us to feel some sense of normalcy.” Figuring out how to safely navigate the new normal is more important than ever, explain UAB experts, particularly heading into more vulnerable and trying winter months that present unique challenges. Read full story Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, 6 November 2020
  23. News Article
    One in five COVId-19 patients were diagnosed with a mental illness for the first time within three months of their infection, a study has shown. Mental health experts said the findings, which were based on an analysis of the electronic medical records of 69 million people in the US, suggest that coronavirus survivors could have an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Of the almost 70 million people whose records were examined in the study, 62,354 individuals had confirmed COVID-19 cases. Researchers at the University of Oxford and the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre found that one in five of these patients went on to receive a first time diagnosis of anxiety, depression or insomnia within 90 days of testing positive for the virus. This was roughly twice as high as the figure for other individuals over the same time frame, according to the researchers. People with a history of mental health disorders who contracted the virus were also discovered to be more likely to have new psychiatric diagnoses. Paul Harrison, a psychiatry professor at the University of Oxford who led the research, said: "People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings in a large and detailed study show this to be likely. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 November 2020
  24. News Article
    A month-long national lockdown in winter will take a heavy toll on people's mental health, charities fear. Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, says it could be "the greatest test of our mental health this year”, not just for the public but for healthcare staff who are "working tirelessly, but may be struggling with their mental health too”. Both Mind and Carers UK say the Government has to learn from mistakes in the first wave and make sure people can get help early on. Mind has also urged the Government to support those who feel alone through a second lockdown in England, with Mr Farmer saying there is an “urgent need” for a winter mental health support package including in-person and online services. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 November 2020
  25. News Article
    More than 200 GPs a month are seeking mental health support as COVID-19 drives up pressure on the NHS - and demand for help is rising fastest among doctors in primary care, figures from a confidential support service suggest. NHS Practitioner Health medical director and former RCGP chair Professor Dame Clare Gerada warns that the pandemic 'must surely be contributing to the increase in numbers of doctors presenting for help compared to pre-pandemic levels'. Before the pandemic, around 60 doctors per week were coming forward for support from NHS Practitioner Health, a free, confidential NHS service for doctors and dentists in England with mental illness and addiction problems. After an initial dip during the first wave of the pandemic, numbers of doctors coming forward each week spiked to 90 per week by June and now 'regularly over 100' per week, Professor Gerada said. Junior doctors and international medical graduates now make up 25% of referrals to the service, and younger women have been particularly affected. Data from NHS Practitioner Health show that up to 69% of all referrals to the service are for women, and nearly a third of all referrals it receives are for female doctors aged 30-39 - for issues 'ranging from anxiety, depression, burnout, PTSD and suicidal thoughts'. Read full story Source: GP Online, 28 October 2020
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