Well, it’s hard to know what to say during these extraordinary times. COVID-19 poses a global challenge like nothing we’ve seen before. Whilst there is a huge amount of chaos and confusion, we are also seeing communities come together and people stepping forward to care for those most vulnerable.
We have been working hard behind the scenes to support those delivering services and advising those developing mental health resources for our frontline workforce. You will have also seen our online hub which shares important information about COVID-19 and where people can access the help they need.
Over the coming weeks we will be launching some new resources for the sector; we published our first one last week about integrated care during times of crisis. There will also be an opportunity for you to get involved, so do stay in touch.
I leave you with a quote from Arundhati Roy, writing for the Financial Times:
“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”
We've been sharing videos and blogs, as well as links to external resources and articles that we hope will help you personally and professionally in navigating this difficult time. They're all on one handy page - take a look.
In Sarah's latest update on the pandemic, she highlights our concerns about people already struggling with their mental health, and reflects on how we can support young people through the outbreak.
Across the UK, voluntary and community organisations are already taking action and working with their NHS and local government partners in response to the pressing needs of the communities they serve and come from.
This briefing looks at how statutory service commissioners and providers are working with their voluntary and community sector partners to respond to the crisis and gives practical advice on how to build effective partnerships locally.
Managing your eating in a time of turmoil Hope shares some practical tips on what is helping her manage her recovery from an eating disorder while isolating from home
Weight management is complex, and this is especially true for people with severe mental illness, who are more likely to experience risk factors for being overweight than the general population. Yet, until relatively recently, little guidance had been tailored to their needs.
More than a number brings into focus some of the challenges and complexities of this subject, and provides a starting point for those looking to understand what is important to people with severe mental illness in terms of weight management support in the community.
We have also produced a suite of resources to support individuals and teams wanting to learn more about severe mental illness and weight management.
People with severe mental illness are three times as likely to smoke than those without, and are more likely to be heavy smokers.
However, while people with severe mental illness who smoke are just as keen to quit as other smokers, few get effective help. A time to quit explores the experiences of people living with severe mental illness of being helped to stop smoking, and looks at the ways that support could be better tailored to enable them to quit when the time is right.
We have also produced a suite of resources to support individuals and teams wanting to learn more about severe mental illness and smoking cessation.
Sending children out-of-area for mental health support can be highly distressing for them and their families, as well as being costly and extending the amount of time it takes for them to recover.
Bringing care back home is an economic evaluation of six pilot programmes supported by NHS England to invest in local mental health services for children and young people, to prevent them needing admission to hospital far from home. The report finds that by investing in local services, trusts reduced the costs of care without compromising on quality.
