Yes it’s short term. But they are a mental health team & see people who for example have just attempted suicide. Them, not having any staff available to see someone will lead to deaths. Even when they do see people, some patients still go on to end their lives.
Yes mental health services were hard hit by the pandemic. Not just omicron but throughout. Activities that help people get through the worst days were completely cut. This at a time when the service would have had unprecedented increase in referrals as a result of the mental ordeal of lockdown etc. It’s a difficult enough job in a normal world. Your wife deserves a medal.
There’s no appears mild about it in my opinion, Annie.
From the time it was first announced by the South Africans, it was stated that Omicron was more virulent but way less harmful compared to the delta variant but every other country’s health “experts” started going on about worst case scenarios and creating the surrounding panic. Now it’s been shown to be just as the S. Africans said, how come none of our so-called experts have been taken to task over the disasters they have caused?
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Strangely, during the lockdowns, for them, patient numbers dropped, as people avoided going to A & E. Her team sees people admitted to a general hospital who are thought to need a mental health assessment. So they see patients taken straight to a ward or admitted to A & E with certain restrictions applying.
Largely what they do is signpost patients to an appropriate service, be that their own GP or a helpline. They also try to get beds for those who need one & refer onto Community teams etc.
For at least 5 years it has been difficult to find a bed, even when the search is national. I am not sure what the portal is, but it is possible for mental health trusts to see what beds are available nationally & even in the years before covid, that was often 5 at the most, available nationally & very often periods with no beds at all. So patients are sent hundreds of miles when beds become available. But that is what years of government cut backs in funding has created. It is what people have voted for.
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@Gee3 , The mental health system we have now is non existent
IMO Gee !
A system that requires a mentally ill person to refer themselves
to a doctor is a non system as far as l am concerned ?
A doctor will not even discuss the problem with you even if
the sick person is a close relative of yours , and will not get you
an appointment with a specialist in the subject to discuss the
subject ?
I have given up now, even the so called mental health centres
just give me another place to phone and so it goes on ??
Donkeyman! 
The answer to all requests is always , they cannot discuss
someone else’s problem with with me ?
They will discuss it if you are given permission by the sick person to be a named contact. This may need to be in writing. They have very strict rules about this because sometimes the sick person does not want to see their family or those close to them. But it can be very counter productive if you are trying to help someone and if they are uncommunicative.
I’m sure they also have a shortage of medical staff due to the pandemic and Brexit. It must be very complex to keep patients socially distanced in a mental health unit. The social distance in itself can delay recovery.
Unfortunately if the patient does not cooperate you are stuck. You’d have to get lasting power of attorney, which is a possible avenue if someone is sectioned but requires a legal process of course. The people trying to help are sometimes rejected by the patient and the hospital has to respect the patient’s wishes unless there is a legal override but even then it does not mean you can help. It’s a very frustrating system.
I was in the situation where I was the only one given permission to help as I was down as next of kin but of course you are then alone burdened with this responsibility and nobody else is allowed into this domain of you and the doctors, you and the system. Literally fighting for someone’s life. It’s a lonely place and you have to be very strong.
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@ Annie S, Thanks for your input Annie !
But l was just noting that the mental health situation in the UK
is far from healthy as it is impenatrable as far as l am concerned
Let’s stay on topic or we will be flagged or summat ?
Donkeyman! 
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The mental health issues with kids needs to be discussed more in my opinion. Our 12 year old still has to wear a face mask to school and I’ve noticed when he feels insecure about anything now, or nervous the first thing he does is put a facemask on.
The damage to kids is going to be a pandemic in itself.
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Absolutely agree.
Our 9 year old grandson refused to go into the big pub for a hot chocolate after our walk the other day, seemed really frightened
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Heh! 
the thread also relates to mental health in that it encompasses the psychology of illness so not off topic to discuss this. Covid has resulted in many psychological reactions and has very much affected those who may otherwise never have ended up having a crisis. The anxiety alone is enough to send the usually mentally healthy over the edge, particularly in 2020.
You have patients who may end up on a mental health unit where the staff are also developing anxiety because of the fear generated by the situation and reported deaths, risks etc. Now we are being eased towards “endemic” the new buzzword you never knew you would ever need to use. So it seems people are being constantly flipped between anxiety, relaxation back to anxiety and then into what appears to be a limbo of what happens next.
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We were talking about this just a couple of weeks ago with friends. A whole generation of children shaped by covid anxiety. The fear of contact, the lost connections with peers. It will be interesting how this formative revolution shapes the society of the future some of us will live to see.
I can only judge by my own grandchildren they seem totally unfazed by wearing masks taking tests and show no anxiety about avoiding places.
It’s been normalised but it’s a big change in child development when experiencing social contact. Communication is very much about facial gestures and that includes the mouth to a large degree. There are no smiles in masks. Kids do accept things because they have nothing to compare it with, but it will be interesting to see the long term effects on their mindset as adults.
They don’t wear masks outside so they can still see facial expressions .
However the disruption in education will undoubtably affect them adversely.
As long as they leave school being able to read, write and do their twelve times tables, what else do they need to know…It never did me any harm…
Emmmmm……
Annie I agree with the comments in the article. They always said that a weaker variant would one day become the dominant one and I feel we are now at that point.
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