NHS bosses are urging people to seek help for anxiety, depression or other mental health issues.
A new campaign – Help Us, Help You – urges people to come forward for assessment and treatment.
It comes after figures revealed the pandemic has caused a dip in referrals to mental health services despite evidence suggesting that the pandemic is making mental health problems more common.
This is despite mental health services running in Coventry and Warwickshire throughout the pandemic.
Research by MIND, a mental health charity, showed that people were less likely to ask for help due to being worried that their problems aren’t serious enough, or they are concerned about placing greater pressure on the NHS, or that they might contract coronavirus.
In April 2020 only 57,814 referrals were made nationally compared to 133,191 in April 2019.
Chair of South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group Dr David Spraggett said: “The NHS and its mental health services are still here for people in Coventry and Warwickshire. The pandemic and the lockdowns that we’ve had to live through have undoubtedly had an impact on people’s mental health. Therefore, it has never been more important to seek help – please don’t suffer in silence, come forward for mental health care.
“Many people find talking about their mental health embarrassing, but this shouldn’t be the case. Mental health can affect anyone so please speak to your GP or self-refer online so you can get the support you need.”
GP services and online talking therapies are open, as are NHS talking therapies known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), a confidential service run by fully trained experts.
Patients and members of the public who are registered with a GP in Coventry, Warwickshire, Rugby or Solihull can access the local IAPT service through self-referral or by being referred by a healthcare professional.
Visit www.covwarkpt.nhs.uk/iapt for more information.
