Our Mental Health…
Written by Jason Knauf
COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on mental health worldwide. In the UK, mental health charities are reporting significant increases in demand for their services and the trend is expected to continue. Chief Executive of the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Jason Knauf, says the response to this needs to be three-fold: preventive action, to keep tackling stigma and get people proactively looking after their mental health; collective action, to provide support for others in our communities and share the burden with the voluntary sector; and funding, to build up resources and our capacity for mental healthcare in the face of this crisis.
In April, the media started to flag a sadly inevitable consequence of COVID-19, and one that (without intervention) might affect more people than will suffer with physical symptoms of the virus: a deterioration in mental health.
The necessary shift of health care workers to the front-line has already created short term problems for those whose mental health needs are usually treated in hospital or supported by face-to-face psychological therapies.
In the medium to long-term, something of greater concern to the experts – academics, practitioners, and the voluntary sector too – is what they are describing as a ‘tsunami’ of need that will follow in the wake of the physical health crisis and the lock-down. It is likely to continue for weeks and months as people return to whatever form of normality is permitted by the lingering risk of infection and strained economy.
This crisis – with its impact through physical illness, bereavement, isolation, and financial pressure – has no modern precedent. We can, however, draw on the knowledge of similar recent events and their effects. Reviews of the evidence relating to SARS and Ebola, and knowledge of the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, provide clear indicators of the emotional and psychological problems that we should expect to see, not just among
front-line workers and the bereaved (all of whose experiences are particularly traumatic), but also among the general population.
And the evidence from those examples points to a real risk of a significant increase in people suffering from PTSD; an increase in self-harm and suicide; and a potential doubling in the number of people suffering with anxiety and depression. The mental health charities that are partners of The Royal Foundation have already seen an impact on their services: CALM has experienced a 40% increase in calls to their helpline and youth service, The Mix, a 100% increase in demand for its digital services.
The crunch is that our usual support systems are ill-equipped to take the strain of a mental health crisis. The NHS is likely to be consumed with the physical impacts of COVID-19 for some time to come so much of the burden of dealing with anticipated mental health needs will fall on the voluntary mental health sector. The charities want to get ahead of the problem, but demand for their services is growing just as their finances risk crisis point due to the economic situation and a reliance on event fundraising (like the London Marathon) which has now collapsed. Charity chief executives are already warning of a 50% loss of income this year.
What can be done?
Happily, in 2020, as a nation we are much better placed to take action than ever before. Tireless campaigning – including through The Royal Foundation’s Heads Together campaign – means that there is now much less stigma around mental health, and we have seen people considering their mental well-being over the past months in a way that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Preventative action is crucial. We need to encourage people to care for themselves. That is why the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently lent their support to Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters campaign.
Much more is needed. We need to encourage people to seek support and also to give them confidence in their abilities to support one another. During lock-down, families, friends, and neighbours have been checking in routinely with each other. Across the UK these networks have created millions of ‘safe spaces’ where people can talk. We need to reinforce that behaviour, as people return to the workplace, to keep them well and take some weight off the voluntary sector’s text and telephone helplines.
There is also an urgent need for more funding of the organisations that are and will be fighting on the second front of COVID-19, to support the mental health of front-line workers, the bereaved, and the general population. The Royal Foundation has been convening charities to promote collaboration and identify priorities. It is clear that investment now to build capacity and digital resources is essential to shore up support in time to face the ‘tsunami’, and so the Royal Foundation is hoping to generate a COVID-19 fund for the
front-line and mental health.
Jason Knauf
Jason Knauf became CEO of The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in September 2019, following over four years as Communications Director at Kensington Palace. His previous experience includes time as Director of Corporate Affairs at the Royal Bank of Scotland and as a Press Secretary at HM Treasury following the financial crisis. He began his career in New Zealand, where he spent four years as a Press Secretary, Speechwriter, and Communications Advisor to government ministers, including then Prime Minister Helen Clark. Jason is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and the London School of Economics.