27
Jul 2021
Covid sees pregnant women in England being denied mental health help
Analysis from leading psychiatrists has shown that thousands of women in England were denied crucial help for their mental health because of the pandemic.
According to analysis from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, in 2020-21, 47,000 women were expected to access perinatal mental health services to help with conditions such as depression and anxiety during or after giving birth, but only 31,261 were able to access help in the most recent data for the 202 calendar year only.
Up to 20 per cent of women suffer from perinatal mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and other conditions occurring during pregnancy or in the first year following the birth of a child.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists found that the pandemic was not the only reason the mental health of thousands of women was overlooked. Variation in care throughout the country due to lack of local investment in perinatal mental health services meant that in many areas of England pregnant women were unable to get support.
Trudi Seneviratne, a registrar of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said “Staff in perinatal mental healthcare have made every effort to support women in these extremely challenging times, but services have been under unprecedented strain. Funding for mental health facilities is long overdue but is more urgent in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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