Robin Swann: Mental health plan will tackle ‘disturbing’ impact of Coronavirus on Northern Ireland community

The Samaritans said recently that Coronavirus is a factor in 40% of phone calls it is taking across the island of Ireland.

Speaking today, Mr Swann said we must remember the “devastating” impact the virus continues to have, after another seven NI deaths.

“And given the disturbing impact this virus has had on the physical and emotional wellbeing of our population, and as this is Mental Health Awareness week, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that mental health and wellbeing services have not stopped and they are still operational,” he said.

He urged anyone needing help to use online tools and apps, their GP, local voluntary groups, Lifeline or 999, if urgent.

And he announced publication of his Mental Health Action Plan, which includes 38 actions and introduces a specialist perinatal mental health service and the development of child and adolescent mental health services and forensic health services. It also includes further mental health support for patients on the NHS frontlines. 

“The importance of this has been brought into sharp focus during these unprecedented times, when the mental health of the population is suffering as a result of the devastating impact of Covid-19,” he added.

In addition there is provision for a strategic mental health response to the pandemic.

His plan links with several other mental health strategies already under way, including one prompted by the children’s commissioner. Also available to the public, he said, is ‘Stress Control’ an online, clinically-led service which provides six free sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy.

His department is also supporting the NHS in making ‘psychological first aid’ available across Northern Ireland. A broad range of mental health support has already been made available for frontline health and social care staff and he recently appointed a mental health champion to further ‘the mental health agenda’ across government and learn from the pandemic.

Mr Swann also said that almost 5,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out on care home residents in NI – 40% of that population. He added that 33 homes which had been infected are now clear.

The pandemic will limit what can be done going forward by the NHS because Covid and non-Covid patients must be kept separate, which is akin to “running two health services in parallel with each other”. He said health trusts have been tasked with developing related plans and that there can “be no return to the way we were in December 2019”. NI’s R-number is now between 0.7 and 0.8, he added.

:: To contact the Samaritans call 116 123 free from any phone or call 0330 094 5717, for which local call charges apply.

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