THERE’S been a spike in demand for help with the psychological effects of Covid through a trailblazing service, the Sunday National has learned.
January is traditionally a tough month for mental health, but combined with a level 4 lockdown, many more people are now seeking support.
At the country’s first Psychological Resilience Hub – a virtual “first aid” service based on that established after the Manchester Arena terror attack – trained clinicians are not only dealing with an increase in cases, but an increase in the number of people presenting with more serious signs of anxiety and depression.
Dr Lynne Taylor says it’s not unexpected. Nor is the 220% increase in young people showing signs of eating disorders over the last six months.
Nor is the rise in frontline medical and care staff with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
As the director of psychology at NHS Grampian, Taylor is responsible for the running of the service, which launched in the week lockdown was announced in March.
There are many other services to turn to within Grampian and elsewhere, including Breathing Space, the National Wellbeing Hub for health and social care workers and the Scottish Association for Mental Health.
As of September, around 1400 people had sought help from Taylor’s team, which offers up to three virtual sessions on approach.
That figure has now reached 2140, including more than 400 staff and 250 people aged under 18.
“People are coming in with higher levels of anxiety and depression,” Taylor says.
“We’ve been calling it the last wave, the last that will show in response to the Covid outbreak. We were expecting referrals to rise. Traditionally, the winter months are always our highest referral time. With the news of a second lockdown, the further spread of Covid and having less connection with family and friends will have impacted on people’s psychological resilience.
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“Lots of people have never been in touch with a mental health service before and have found it positive. It can be that thing that gets them through a tough week.”
The hub is staffed with trained medics from around the area and beyond. Its remote nature means one member of staff, a Scottish-trained clinician who has been unable to travel here, is logging in from abroad.
Users self-refer and can seek support more than once, and those who need more formal, intensive or ongoing support are connected with the appropriate services.
Some of these are experiencing their own increases in demand, such as with the young people exhibiting signs of eating disorders, which are often linked to a wish to excerpt some control in circumstances where the individual feels they have little other ability to do so.
Taylor says the cancellation of exams and continued separation from friends and support networks can feed into this.
Meanwhile, many hospital cleaners, care home workers and medics are reaching out for help to cope with the levels of sickness and loss they deal with on the front lines, with some showing signs of PTSD.
“They’re prepared to deal with trauma, but they’re still human and it does affect them,” Taylor says.
“We definitely are hearing from staff that they are struggling really significantly with sleep and feeling low as a consequence of looking after patients in the intensive care units and Covid wards.
“That really is a difficult environment. Compassion fatigue is really quite high for a lot of people.”
Sometimes called second-hand shock, the term refers to a range of issues from sleeping difficulties to exhaustion and irritability experienced by people exposed to those with experience of trauma, such as serious illness. NHS Grampian has programmed more work to help caregivers cope.
Taylor says it’s “normal to feel abnormal in an abnormal situation”, and says not everyone will “develop psychological distress”, with many “thriving” free from the pressures of their commute or office environment.
Meanwhile, she takes some heart from the number of people addressing their mental health.
“There aren’t many positives, but as a legacy I’m hoping that Covid has broken down some of the barriers in terms of speaking seeking mental health support.”
For more information on the hub visit www.covid19.nhsgrampian.org. Outwith Grampian, call Breathing Space free on 0800 83 85 87 or visit www.breathingspace.scot.
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