The LANCET Journal – Psychiatry – published a great paper discussing the changes that it sees are required in the system to address the evolving needs of the population during and post pandemic. While it is based on a global experience the conclusions and observations are valid in the Ontario context. Here are the summary and conclusions sections of the report and you can read the entire article here.
How mental health care should change as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic
Carmen Moreno, PhD Prof Til Wykes, PhD Prof Silvana Galderisi, MD Prof Merete Nordentoft, DrMedSc Nicolas Crossley, PhD Nev Jones, PhD et al. Published:July 16, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30307-2
Summary
The unpredictability and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic; the associated lockdowns, physical distancing, and other containment strategies; and the resulting economic breakdown could increase the risk of mental health problems and exacerbate health inequalities. Preliminary findings suggest adverse mental health effects in previously healthy people and especially in people with pre-existing mental health disorders. Despite the heterogeneity of worldwide health systems, efforts have been made to adapt the delivery of mental health care to the demands of COVID-19. Mental health concerns have been addressed via the public mental health response and by adapting mental health services, mostly focusing on infection control, modifying access to diagnosis and treatment, ensuring continuity of care for mental health service users, and paying attention to new cases of mental ill health and populations at high risk of mental health problems. Sustainable adaptations of delivery systems for mental health care should be developed by experts, clinicians, and service users, and should be specifically designed to mitigate disparities in health-care provision. Thorough and continuous assessment of health and service-use outcomes in mental health clinical practice will be crucial for defining which practices should be further developed and which discontinued. For this Position Paper, an international group of clinicians, mental health experts, and users of mental health services has come together to reflect on the challenges for mental health that COVID-19 poses. The interconnectedness of the world made society vulnerable to this infection, but it also provides the infrastructure to address previous system failings by disseminating good practices that can result in sustained, efficient, and equitable delivery of mental health-care delivery. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic could be an opportunity to improve mental health services.
Introduction
The COVID-19 outbreak was sudden and unexpected in most countries. The first known cases occurred in late December, 2019, and WHO declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
…
COVID-19 has resulted in an increase in known risk factors for mental health problems. Together with unpredictability and uncertainty, lockdown and physical distancing might lead to social isolation, loss of income, loneliness, inactivity, limited access to basic services, increased access to food, alcohol, and online gambling, and decreased family and social support, especially in older and vulnerable people. Racial and ethnic disparities in the incidence of COVID-19 (and associated mortality) have been pronounced. The downturn in the economy caused by COVID-19 will lead to unemployment, financial insecurity, and poverty, which hinder access to health services (especially in insurance-based systems), thereby having deleterious effects on physical and mental health and quality of life.
…
Quarantine can also contribute to stress, anger, and an increase in risky behaviours such as online gambling. Young people might be at particular risk. In previous pandemics, quarantined children were more likely to develop acute stress disorder, adjustment disorders, and grief than were those who had not been quarantined. An increase in young people making calls to helplines with symptoms of anxiety has been reported. Increased alcohol sales and alcohol use in the home have also been recorded, which could potentially increase alcohol use disorders and domestic violence (both in young people and in adults).
...
People who have or had COVID-19
For people with COVID-19, lack of contact with their families or loved ones during quarantine and hospital stays can produce psychological instability. High rates of post-traumatic symptoms have been reported in clinically stable people discharged from hospital after recovering from COVID-19
...
People with pre-existing mental health disorders
Because of their life circumstances, people with pre-existing mental health disorders might have a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection than those without mental health disorders.
…
People with pre-existing mental health disorders have reported increased symptoms and poorer access to services and supports since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early discharge from psychiatric units and disruption of face-to-face psychiatric care have become common, the negative consequences of which could include relapse, suicidal behaviour, lack of access to medical care, and social isolation.53 Quarantine and lockdown might particularly affect people with pre-existing mental health problems: increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, and high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia have been reported. Simultaneously, physical distancing has reduced the availability of many family, social, and psychiatric supports. People with serious mental illness and associated socioeconomic disadvantages are particularly at risk of both the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic
….
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected mental health, and some of these effects might persist. The psychological toll of the disease is already apparent both in the general population and specifically in people with mental disorders (particularly those with severe mental illness and cognitive impairment) and frontline workers. Mental health systems have rapidly changed during the pandemic and a sustained response to the challenges posed by COVID-19 needs to be coordinated. ... Implementation of a COVID-19-related physical and mental health monitoring system that includes outcomes related to mental health service use would inform practice, and could help to shape optimal mental health care for the times to come. Retaining existing services and promoting new practices that expand access and provide cost-effective delivery of effective mental health services to individuals who already have mental disorders or who have developed them during the pandemic should be a priority. Service provision needs to be individualised: effective practices already in place should be refined and scaled up, and both the usefulness and limitations of peer support and remote health delivery should be recognised. A focus on accountability based on routine measurement of meaningful and valued outcomes, co-production of service design and evaluation with expansion of health insurance coverage of mental health, and promotion of primary care support and its greater integration with secondary care could further help to sustain mental health care in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The pandemic and associated lockdown in Ontario stopped almost all non life-threatening health care access for two months. This created enormous backlogs for those who regularly attend appointments and caused both physical and mental harm for many patients. Pain therapy, physical therapy and mental health care all rely on regular attendance to be effective. Without the care those in need faced the despair of their own personal situations combined with the issues of lack of care.
