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Doctors are seeing a rise in people who are rapidly experiencing severe mental health problems, says a group of NHS leaders.
It follows a more than 30% drop in referrals to mental health services during the height of the pandemic.
But there are predictions that the recent rise will mean that demand is likely to drive up pre-coronavirus levels – perhaps by as much as 20%.
The NHS Confederation said those who needed help should come forward.
But the group, which represents leaders in health and care, said in a report that mental health services needed “intensive support and investment” to keep up with those in need.
The mental health leadership of the NHS Confederation, Sean Duggan, said that when cases of coronavirus were at their highest, people continued to stay out of services, as they did in other parts of the NHS.
“A&E numbers were down, GP numbers were down. The same thing happened in some of our mental health services,” he said, as people tried to reduce the burden on health care and did not try the virus. to catch.
“The concern is, if you leave problems, they can get worse.”
This may explain some of the rise in more severe cases that come to the fore.
Like people whose circumstances were under lockdown, NHS services also expect an increase in the demand for mental health services as a direct result of the pandemic itself, the report said.
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It highlighted isolation, substance abuse, domestic violence and economic uncertainty as factors that may contribute to the need for additional support.
There are also “particular concerns that the severe inequality in access to services and recovery rates at which ethnic communities are black and minority will increase,” the report said.
Mental health providers report that when seeing patients with “more important needs”, a higher proportion of their referrals are patients accessing services for the first time.
Meanwhile, suppliers predict infection control and social distance measures will mean they have an estimated 10-30% less capacity than normal.
Mr. Duggan said he does not “want to medicate everything … It is perfectly normal to feel restless and anxious” at such an uncertain time.
But despite that, there was a “real” increase in people needing mental health services, he added.
NHS England last week published the next phase of its response to Covid-19, recognizing that “mental health needs can increase significantly”.
The plan includes expanding services for improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) – the route for treatment of the most common, mild to moderate conditions, in which people may refer themselves.
It also said that people being cared for by community mental health teams – generally those with greater needs – should monitor their care. People with severe mental illness need more therapy and support, it said.
NHS England also pointed out its mental health and wellness service launched for all health professionals.
