Most patients I’m seeing now are anxious about their health (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

‘I always knew this was the way I was going to die – in my home, all alone.’

I’d just broken the bad news to my 54-year old patient Mary that she has to self-isolate after contracting a new cough and fever, and I’m concerned for her.

Despite her background of anxiety and depression, she’s been stable for a number of years. She’s relapsing – and she’s not the only one. Most patients I’m seeing now are anxious about their health, their livelihood, and their inability to pick up fundamentals like over-the-counter medicine because of stockpiling.



As frontline GPs, we’ve been facing an uphill battle with mental health for some time, but Covid-19 has exacerbated this significantly. An increased number of patients present daily with symptoms that indicate that they are stressed, anxious and becoming increasingly depressed.


Given the health risks of Covid-19, it’s appropriate that we take stricter measures to self-isolate and to reduce social contact. Yet, with the country on lockdown, I have a grave concern for the mental health of Britain.

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With mass panic, the proliferation of fake news and ambiguity in guidelines, those suffering with mental health are most vulnerable. Many of my patients are showing signs of regression, with one parent telling me that her daughter ‘hadn’t slept in days’, and another patient with generalised anxiety disorder confessing he’s ‘really struggling to control his symptoms’.

This population is becoming cut off from their small social support networks, and building themselves up into an anxious frenzy at home, locked in a media apocalypse echo chamber. Many are feeling restricted in their houses, having to abandon routines that would otherwise bring solace and well-needed exercise, like walking the dog.

What has made things even harder is the reduced workforce. Community mental health outreach teams who were already stretched pre-pandemic are now at breaking point, and the hospitals are struggling to cope. How can we support those who desperately need support?

We have to rekindle that community spirit, to stop stockpiling, to reach out to support the vulnerable, and support food banks and local charities

The mental health of our frontline workers is also a major concern. Regular communication groups are continuously filled with updated guidelines, changes on management, questions about what we can/can’t/should/shouldn’t do. Experienced doctors like myself feel like first year graduates, scrambling to know how best to manage patients in these uncertain circumstances.

Reduced face-to-face consultations are making assessment increasingly challenging, and mental health patients may face the brunt of this. It sometimes takes a double appointment to understand and appropriately manage and support this vulnerable group – suddenly, we have less time.

In our efforts to support and triage patients, to stem the flow to hospitals, to understand and eschew evolving medical guidance, we’re not prioritising this critical cohort of patients.

So what can we do? As GPs, we can integrate a basic mental health assessment in our telephone and video consultations. Public Health England must focus on creating dedicated Covid-19 test centres for frontline healthcare staff, allowing the well to keep working and bolstering numbers.



More vitally, we need measures to allay the financial fears of freelancers, with clear, honest and open explanations of the rationale for current measures. We have to rekindle that community spirit, to stop stockpiling, to reach out to support the vulnerable, and support food banks and local charities.

If we fail to take these steps, it may precipitate a mental health crisis on top of the global pandemic.

The implications of Covid-19 will be felt in years to come, but we can take steps today to minimise the long term mental health ramifications.

Mary’s story is an alarming one, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

We must act now, before it’s too late.

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK During Mental Awareness Health Week (18-24 May 2020), we are sharing personal experience stories from people living with mental health conditions on how to cope during difficult times. For more information about this year’s theme – kindness – visit the Mental Health Foundation. If you are struggling and need help, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or go to the Samaritans website.

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