We Need to Act Now to Prevent a Mental Health Crisis Equal to the Pandemic in Impact. By Adam Colclough

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Mental-Health-Green-Party


 

The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the mental wellbeing of people from all sections of society. Candidates standing for the Green Party in Staffordshire have backed a recovery strategy put forward by MIND. [1]

A spokesperson for the party said, “since March last year we have been monitoring the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdowns on our community”, adding that “this has shown us everyone from young people to the elderly who have had to shield for a year to people who have lost their jobs have been impacted”.

In the strategy MIND commit to take action to address inequalities around poverty and race in mental health services and to support young people, one of the groups hit hardest during the pandemic. 

Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics last year show the stark impact the pandemic has had on the nation’s mental health. Almost one in five adults (19.2%) were found to be experiencing some form of depression due to the pandemic, a rise from one in ten (9.7%) before it began. Adults aged between 16 and 39, females and people facing economic difficulties were found to be facing the most problems. Stress was also reported to be higher within the general population, with 84.9% of the adults questioned describing it as impacting on their relationships in some way.

Figures from NHS Digital show the impact the pandemic and lockdown have had on the mental health of young people. Rates of probable mental health disorders in children and young people have increased from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017, to one in six (16.0%) in 2020. Children and young people with a probable mental disorder said that lockdown had made them feel worse.

The North Staffs Green Party spokesperson said, “everything we have seen over the past year suggests we are at risk of seeing unfold a crisis in mental wellbeing that could equal the pandemic in impact unless we take action now”.

The manifesto launched by the North Staffs Green Party prior to the election emphasizes the importance of green spaces to promoting physical and mental wellbeing and several candidates have mentioned it’s as a key personal issue in their election statements.

The spokesperson said “promoting physical and mental wellbeing is central to local and national policy for the Green Party, we are the only major party to be taking the lead on this vital issue”.