Mental Health Virtual Appointments

As pressure eases on the NHS local mental health teams should look at beginning virtual visits with patients who have received no support since this began. Whilst they may not be at direct risk of harm having no support or support withdrawn suddenly can be dangerous.

Why the contribution is important

No contact with support services puts patients with mental health issues at direct risk of harm. Whilst there are phone numbers that can be used if anyone is really struggling. It is widely known that someone with mental health issues are not always able to pick up the phone. Personal experience, family member being informed that “it maybe sometime before hear about the referral due to Covid.” Mental health is not a terminal illness but it is/can be life threatening.

by dsimpson21 on May 05, 2020 at 07:42PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.8
Based on: 13 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Boomt24 May 05, 2020 at 20:39

    Hi, some health boards are already using the near me or attend anywhere system to video call with patients. Your board may have this option for any further appointments.

  • Posted by Pragmatist May 05, 2020 at 21:54

    To be fair, the Scottish government today circulated a set of principles to health boards to encourage them to use different range of remote Psychological therapies so I’m sure this service get better for people who need it.

  • Posted by roobie May 08, 2020 at 08:43

    This is urgent as psychology was paused across Scotland - this was national policy. The impact is truly devastating and the technology was available all along and was used for NHS Staff but not patients. Psychologist led sessions should have been available for all mentally ill people, regardless of their status of staff or patient as the impact of lockdown was felt disproportionately by those with mental illness and lives have been devastated as a result of the lack of treatment. All mentally ill people need to be able to access psychology services on an equal basis, prioritised by severity of illness. Even actively suicidal patients have struggled to access appropriate services, with gp referrals consistently downgraded to routine, as routine appointments were placed on hold. Some mental illnesses have relatively high morbidity compared with many other illnesses and have huge consequences for people's lives. These services should have been delivered virtually throughout the lockdown with no interruption to services.
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