THE lockdown has had an enormous effect on the mental health of residents, and could do for years to come, according to mental health support groups in the borough.

Referrals have soared over lockdown, with many people experiencing mental health problems for the first time, while others are experiencing complex problems which have returned amid lockdown.

Statistics released over the pandemic from March last year have shown more people being referred to mental health teams due to many factors experienced during the pandemic. One group of people very much affected were frontline health workers.

More than two in five staff at the Bolton Trust felt ill due to work-related stress as the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, according to a survey.

CLAIMS: The Royal Bolton Hospital

CLAIMS: The Royal Bolton Hospital

The annual NHS staff survey has revealed the toll of the Covid-19 crisis on staff at trusts across England, who faced huge pressures as hospital admissions surged.

At Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, 45 per cent of staff who responded to the 2020 survey said they had felt unwell in the past 12 months as a result of work-related stress ­— up from 37 per cent a year earlier.

It reflected the picture across England as a whole, where 44 per cent of NHS staff said they had been unwell due to work-related stress last year, compared to 40 per cent the year before.

One group which has been supporting residents with mental health difficulties through the pandemic in Bolton’s Mental Health Independent Support Team (MhIST).

Manager of MhIST Dr Melvin Bradley, said: “Before the pandemic our numbers were pretty stable year on year but since then it’s just gone up and up.We are running at double of what we would usually expect to be doing at this time of year which is really worrying. We’re seeing over 1,000 more people than we would usually.

“We’re getting a lot of referrals from new areas too such as from the hospital and other areas such as Age UK.

“A lot of people are just getting overwhelmed with lockdown and we are getting a lot more people with complex issues coming in. The big increase in referrals has been very worrying.

“Complex issues, such as schizophrenia, take much longer to deal with and make better which increases the waiting lists and workloads even more.

“There are people I’ve known for years who have been stable for some time who have been completely knocked by this and are struggling again.

“I’m sure we’ll still be dealing with the effects of the pandemic in 12 to 18 months time. It was seen with an an event like the Manchester Arena bombing, mental health problems take a long time to come on.

“Unfortunately our emergency funding won’t be with us then so it could be a very big struggle, as we’ll still be expected to help people, I genuinely expect us to be overwhelmed in a couple years time.”

Soyeb Amirat, a consultant social worker who has done a lot of work with Asian Elders, a social group for the Asian community in Bolton, said he has also seen a lot of new issues arise over the pandemic.

Asian Elders charity members

Asian Elders charity members

Mr Amirat said: “I have seen a lot of issues ongoing through the course of the pandemic. Issues that people may have been having before the lockdown have been aggravated by it and there has also been a big increase in social anxieties because of lockdown.

“Our group was always a really good opportunity for people to get together but that has been cut off.

“There is already a stigma around mental health and coming forward, especially with men, and people haven’t had the opportunity to speak about it in an open way at all over lockdown.

“So when we come out of lockdown people are going to have extra needs addressing so we need to make sure there is enough support there.”

Bolton South East MP has been holding a number of round table discussion recently regarding tackling mental health problems in Bolton, which included speaking to Dr Bradley and Mr Amirat.

Ms Qureshi said: “The discussions we have had and suggestions made make it clear that as we move forward we need to adapt our entire thinking towards treating mental health and consider it with parity to physical health.

“I am very concerned that as we emerge out of one pandemic, we are to be launched directly into another, with mental health referrals through the roof and capacity exceeded. We need a real action plan as to how we support those who need it most.”

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, MP for Tooting and shadow minister for Mental Health, added: “It was an honour to listen to the concerns of the fantastic local organisations in Bolton who provide essential mental health support for people who need it most.”

“With the economic effects of the pandemic having such a huge impact, it’s vital that the Government takes action now.”