Lack of planning for mental health impacts of pandemic a “catastrophic failure”, says Mind
Mind, the mental health charity, says the lack of planning for mental health during the Covid pandemic was a “catastrophic failure”.
Speaking on the opening day of the Covid Inquiry Module 3 which will be looking at children and young people in mental health inpatient settings, Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of Mind, said:
“The lack of planning around mental health for the pandemic was a catastrophic failure by the UK government. There appears to have been no plan for people already engaging with mental health services and no plan for the inevitable mental health consequences of the pandemic.
“This is especially true for children and young people. We’ve heard too many stories of young people discharged from hospital at the height of the pandemic with no support plans in place for their return home. We’re now living with the consequences of these multiple failures, as more and more young people report mental health problems.
“Future plans for dealing with pandemics must include significant and detailed risk planning for mental health support. People’s mental health cannot be disregarded in this way again.”
No plans for mental health
In its submission to the inquiry and in submissions delivered by Roger Pezzani of Garden Court Chambers, Mind - the only mental health organisation to have been granted Core Participant status in Module 3 of the Inquiry – said:
There were no specific plans in place for mental health inpatient services despite the likely serious impact of social isolation, anxiety and financial stress. And no apparent consideration was given to the impacts on children and teenagers, despite disrupted schooling and isolation.
The government did not listen to the charity’s warnings about failures during the first wave of Covid-19, including the traumatic effects of the pandemic. The result was that not enough people were able to get prompt access to the help they needed to protect their mental health.
The charity says the government acknowledged the risks of worsening mental health in May 2020. But a failure to act on those warnings, coupled with the apparent lack of planning, had devastating consequences, including people with serious mental illness (SMI) being five times more likely to die from Covid-19.
Children and Young people with pre-existing mental health conditions were disproportionately affected by the pandemic restrictions. This was made worse as CAMHS was already struggling to cope, with significant waiting lists.
Over the next three months, Mind will be making sure the Inquiry is fully aware of the significant and severe impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on children and young people across the UK. The charity will highlight the lack of planning for mental health, the impact the public safety measures had on people’s mental health, and the consequences of those measures on people in hospitals and people engaging with other mental health services.
