People who were seriously ill in the hospital with coronavirus should undergo an emergency exam to detect post-traumatic stress disorder, leading doctors say.
Covid’s Trauma Response Task Force, led by University College London and involving experts from south-east England, said those who had been in intensive care were at greatest risk.
Experts said that regular checks should last at least a year.
More than 100,000 people have been treated at the hospital for the virus.
Experts say tens of thousands of these would have been sick enough to be at risk for PTSD.
The task force highlighted research that showed that 30% of patients who had suffered serious illness in outbreaks of infectious disease in the past had developed PTSD, while depression and anxiety problems were also common.
‘It was like being in hell’
Tracy is just one of the many people who have been left with psychological scars from her experience with the coronavirus.
She was admitted to Whittington Hospital in North London in March and spent more than three weeks there, one of which was in intensive care.
“It was like being in hell. I saw people dying, people with their lives being sucked out. The staff has masks and all they saw was eyes, it was so lonely and scary.”
Since she was discharged in April, the 59-year-old woman has been struggling to sleep due to the idea that she will die and has suffered constant retrospect.
She is now receiving advice.
“It has been really difficult. Physically I have been very tired. I am beginning to recover, but the mental side is very difficult to handle.”
“I have a good support network of family and friends and I am a positive person, and I am struggling. I think there will be many people in a similar situation, if not worse.”
Available ‘variable’ support
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UCL psychiatrist Dr. Michael Bloomfield, who is on the Covid task force, said those patients who ended up in the hospital will have had a “very scary and invasive” experience and, along with long-term complications, they would be at risk of stress. difficulties related to mental health.
He said the unique nature of the pandemic, which meant that patients were isolated from their family while they were in the hospital, could also worsen the problems.
“We need to make sure we support these patients. On-site services are highly variable. Doing no more could have long-term consequences.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said it was clear that the pandemic had “turned life around.”
He said that all Covid survivors who stayed in the hospital will have a follow-up appointment with their GP or with the hospital team where their mental health would be evaluated.
They were also able to refer to themselves for psychological support, he added.
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