Dr Miguel Garcia-Alcaraz, the head of the Island’s mental-health service, said the true impact of Covid-19 might not be seen for years but that the number of referrals – particularly among young people – had increased last year.
There was an 11% rise in referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and an increase of 500 appointments for 14-to-25-year-olds at the Youth Enquiry Service in 2020 compared to the previous year. Figures released by the service show that 1,902 counselling appointments took place in 2020, compared to 1,341 the previous year.
Dr Garcia-Alcaraz said: ‘There is a cluster of people whose health is suffering as a result of anxiety, to the point where they cannot function, and this is because of the financial, emotional and mental effects of Covid.
‘We have seen an increase in teenagers and those in their twenties suffering with eating disorders. Many eating disorders relate to an individual’s perceived lack of control, as a result of the uncertainty of Covid.’
The Youth Enquiry Service’s YES project provides a confidential drop-in facility for young people that supports those aged 14–25 with mental-health issues, as well as a range of other concerns.
In December 2020, the Government of Jersey commissioned Kooth, an online counselling service for 13-to 25-year-olds, to provide young people with mental-health and wellbeing advice and support. More than 250 young people registered in the first month of its launch.
Mark Capern, principal youth officer, said: ‘Should any young person under 25 years old need any help, support or advice, or need someone to talk with, our staff are ready to listen.
‘We know that Covid-19 has had a massive impact on young people’s mental health. Youth workers continue to do a fantastic job supporting young people through schools, in town and over the phone.
‘Although Covid-19 means that we can’t meet in person, our youth work team are still here to listen and provide support.’
Dr Garcia-Alcaraz also said that he had noted an upward trend in cases relating to domestic violence and increased alcohol consumption. He said that their impact was causing people’s mental health to worsen to the point that they sought help.
‘Violence, alcohol and eating disorders have increased as a result of people spending a lot more time at home and significant disruption to their usual routine,’ said Dr Garcia-Alcaraz.
‘All three of these variables can fuel each other in one way or another too.
‘Luckily under the current restrictions we are free to leave the house as much as possible, which will help a lot of people.’
Dr Garcia-Alcaraz praised Islanders for looking out for each other throughout the pandemic and acknowledged the courage of those seeking help.
This has partly been provided by early-intervention services such as the Listening Lounge, which has seen an increased average footfall of 150 people seeking advice each month, compared to 100 during the first lockdown last year.
Mr Garcia-Alcaraz added: ‘People are continually seeking help because we are beginning to knock down the stigma wall and many are accepting that it is okay not to be okay. We have also facilitated the way people can access our services, making it easy for them to reach for help.’
Rob Sainsbury, group managing director for the Health Department, said there had been an increase in admissions to Orchard House, Jersey’s psychiatric hospital, during the first wave of the pandemic.
‘During the first wave there were more people admitted to Orchard House under a mental-health article and they generally had a longer length of stay,’ he said. ‘We recovered this in the last six months of 2020 but we want to avoid the same position off the back of this second wave.’
Mr Sainsbury said people could take confidence knowing that waiting times to be seen by a first respondent had reduced throughout the pandemic.
‘Jersey Talking Therapies had 363 people waiting to be seen as a first assessment in July 2020 after the first Covid wave but we have since reduced this to 78 people in December 2020,’ he said.
As part of the Government Plan, funding is being invested in the redesign of CAMHS in order to improve mental-health support for young people – including investment in early-intervention services for children of all ages.
Mr Sainsbury added: ‘By ensuring these early-intervention options are readily available to the public, we hope that we can help keep a lid on the severity of the negative impact towards people’s mental health.’
