Almost a quarter of people using remote NHS mental health services said their mental health had deteriorated as a result.
The mental health charity Mind surveyed nearly 2,000 people about their experiences accessing mental health treatment over the phone or online during the pandemic.
Some 35% said they found the service difficult to use and 23% said their mental health had actually deteriorated because of the support they were given.
Almost two in three said they would have preferred face-to-face assistance, 10% reported technology issues accessing the assistance offered, and 34% said they often or always worried about privacy.
Interviewees did say, however, that there are some positives to remote care: two in three liked not having to travel, 47% were grateful for the flexibility of appointment times, and 40% said that the wait times were shorter.
Mind said the government and the NHS must offer a range of mental health treatments as the UK emerges from isolation.
Leila Reyburn, the charity’s policy and campaign manager, said that while services “quickly adapted” and the offer of remote assistance was a “lifeline for many” it was not to become the “new normal”.
She said: “Online therapy cannot be seen as an easy answer to solving the growing pressures on overburdened mental health services.
“There is no cheap solution.
“As restrictions continue to decrease and we begin to deal with the long-term effects of the pandemic – bereavement, grief, layoff and precarious employment – it is very important that everyone is offered a range of options, including including face-to-face treatment, so that they can choose the most convenient and appropriate option. “
Katie Yellard has borderline personality disorder, mild anxiety, generalized depression, and attempted suicide in March of last year.
During the pandemic, her regular face-to-face support was cut off and she said she had privacy issues and breaches of …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-27 23:30:00
