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Calls to mental health helplines and prescriptions for antidepressants have reached an all-time high, while access to life-saving talk therapies has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Guardian research.
More than 6 million people in England received antidepressants in the three months to September, which is equivalent to more than one in 10 adults and the highest number on record.
This is believed to be due to online counseling services, which some doctors have deemed inappropriate for certain patients, while some patients were reluctant to seek face-to-face help or add additional pressure to healthcare services.
Concerns have been raised that vital early intervention treatment has not been given, and experts say the longer people wait for the right help, “the more serious and complex their difficulties and their lives can become.”
Lucy Schonegevel, deputy director of campaigns for the mental health charity Rethink, said there was a “great risk of unsupported antidepressants being prescribed,” adding that such drugs should “go hand in hand” with therapy.
Their concerns were echoed by mental health activist Natasha Devon, who said: “People go to their GP with symptoms of mental illness and are sent with a bag of medicine, after being put on a waiting list for 18 months”.
Dr Esther Cohen-Tovée, President of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology, said: “I am shocked and extremely concerned by the enormous scope of the reduction in referrals for psychological help during a time of great anxiety, stress and anguish for the entire population. This is even more worrying when there has been a large increase in the prescription of antidepressants.
He said that psychological help “can save lives” and that “the longer people wait, the more serious and complex their difficulties and their lives will be.”
Cohen-Tovée said an increase in resources for psychological services was urgently needed and that if not provided, the “impacts would be devastating.” He said they would add “to the profound direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic itself … hampering our efforts towards the recovery of individuals, families and communities.”
Dr Gary Howsam, vice president of the Royal College of GPs, said its members had reported an increase in the number of patients experiencing mental health problems, such as anxiety and bad moods, during the pandemic.
“While for some these symptoms may be mild, for others they could be risk factors for self-harm and suicidal behavior, and as such, GPs take these concerns very seriously.
“An increase in the prescription of antidepressants during the course of the pandemic is not surprising, given the difficult circumstances in which people live and should not automatically be seen as a negative,” he said, adding that this indicates that those who fight are still Looking for assistance. .
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There were 601,530 referrals to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies 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.
Appointments for the most acute cases also decreased. Hospital visits in 10 categories of mental health, psychology and psychiatry fell 9% in the seven months to the end of September, while first appointments decreased by 26%. An NHS spokesperson said that when non-acute cases were included, the decline was less severe.
Experts said the drop was due to a combination of some people not receiving adequate support, for example group therapy, as services went online, a reluctance among some to come forward due to Covid concerns and outages. of service during the first wave.
The figures point to an unmet need at a time of increased mental health stress caused by Covid, including isolation, lockdown, illness, bereavement, and concerns about financial security and job loss. In July, the Office for National Statistics said that the number of adults in Britain with depression doubled during the coronavirus pandemic.
There have also been indications of direct impacts of Covid on mental health. A recent study found that one in five people who have had Covid-19 were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression, or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus.
There are signs that the private sector and charities are absorbing some of the demand.
A spokesperson for Priory, a private mental health provider, said it had a quiet period at the height of the shutdown, but had since seen a “significant increase in referrals to our private acute services,” with an increase in 70% in private referrals in October in comparison. with October 2019.
However, Scott Weich, a professor in the mental health research unit at the University of Sheffield, said the current situation is not solely due to the Covid pandemic: “Years of austerity led to increasing rates of psychiatric morbidity and, same time, reduced availability and access to care.
“What is clear is that it will take time to get back to where we were before the pandemic, much less where we should be in terms of delivering high-quality mental health services.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said that some people initially had concerns about coming forward for care, but that mental health services remained open and referrals had returned to almost pre-Covid levels.
“Talk therapy sessions that the public can self-refer to for face-to-face and online sessions and referrals are now increasing rapidly, while the establishment of 24/7 crisis help lines week, and self-help websites like Every Mind Matters can also help people having a hard time. “
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted by calling 116 123 or emailing [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Line is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the Lifeline crisis help service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
