Improved access to mental health services must be prioritised as the country continues to navigate out of lockdown, according to the charity Rethink Mental Illness.
Its new briefing ‘Access to NHS mental health services for people with severe mental illness’ highlights the acute impact of the pandemic on people living with severe mental illness.
A survey of over 1,400 people by the charity in April and May found that in the initial stages of lockdown, people living with pre-existing mental illness were heavily impacted by the changes to formal mental health services.