Mental health

Many people have become used to virtual or telephone consultations with GPS during the pandemic,
I think mental health teams should now use this method to restart all the appointments that are currently on hold due to Covid 19

Why the contribution is important

Mental health issues are increasing during the pandemic. Many people are on an ever increasing waiting list for mental health input which could be tackled by the use of visual / audio consultations.

by Amefraser on May 06, 2020 at 01:03PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.5
Based on: 8 votes

Comments

  • Posted by jade1309 May 06, 2020 at 23:42

    I completely agree with this. As someone who suffers from ptsd, anxiety and depression, I was referred by my doctor to psychology back in January, with a 3 month waiting list, obviously lockdown happened just coming towards the end of the 3 months, and I now have no idea when it'll now take place!!

  • Posted by roobie May 08, 2020 at 09:55

    Video and phone psychology was and is available for NHS staff throughout this crisis. This could and should have been extended to mentally ill patients, who have not all had sudden and miraculous recoveries.

    I was meant to be referred in March however the psychiatrist forgot to do this and my referral has only just been submitted which means I will be even further behind on the waiting list when I am in fact in desperate need of help for multiple severe issues, all exacerbated by 2 months of complete social isolation.

    Psychology was paused as national policy across Scotland- this should never have been allowed to happen as attend anywhere and phone consultations were available options. There was no need to do this and the 6 to 14% staff absence does not and did not necessitate a full withdrawal of services to highly vulnerable people, very likely to in even greater need during these times.

    Access to psychology should have been equally available to all mentally ill people during this crisis, whether NHS staff or patients.

    At no point has the government utilised the private sector to assist with psychology provision. They failed to provide at all for the mentally ill and instead provided funds for mental health - the two are poles apart in terms of what level of treatment is needed.

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