The government bungled mental health care during the first lockdown – a winter support package is vital this time around

As the nation enters a second lockdown, we face the greatest test of our mental health to date.

Mental healthcare providers are bracing themselves for its impact and this government must support their efforts with an urgent winter support package.

Additional investment has to be made into community mental health services so that people receive vital support. We know that once physical distancing measures are accounted for, mental health bed capacity has been reduced by a third and those beds are almost all occupied with people who are very unwell. To put it plainly, there is no more room in hospitals.  

We also urge political leaders to consider the particular needs of people severely affected by mental illness such as schizophrenia. It is crucial that people are given the help they need to stay well and out of hospital, including Covid-safety compliant face-to-face support, even during the national lockdown.  

The government must learn from mistakes made in the first wave of the virus and better protect those at greatest risk, as well as equipping community mental health services for the many more people we know will struggle in the coming months. 

The mark of a society is how well it supports those in greatest need, especially in times of crisis.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind

Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Centre for Mental Health  

Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation  

Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness  

In 2016 Hillary Clinton received nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump but still lost the election. The democracy of the US and the legitimacy of its president were therefore already questionable. (And the UK has nothing to boast about in that respect.)

But the unseemly, untrue, boastful claims made by Trump before the result of the present election is known can only cast even more doubt about his worth as a leader. In the unfortunate event that he is able to achieve another four years at the helm of his country, he can hardly be justified in expecting any respect internationally.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

I thought it wise to visit the gym on Wednesday before everything shuts down again. Anyway, I was on the treadmill, and similar to most people, I was glancing at the TV which was playing some old black and white western. After a while I noticed that the stars were none other than John Wayne and Oliver Hardy in a production called: The Fighting Kentuckian.

This made me think: would it not be great if either of these screen giants were alive now and sitting in the White House as president of the USA!

Just goes to show how far down the rabbit-hole America has gone in four years!

Robert Boston

Kingshill

I turned 18 in October half term. It wasn’t the birthday I wanted, but I made sacrifices for the sake of my family’s health. My mother was shielding in the first lockdown and I stopped attending sixth form before everyone else. As someone who will be expected to take exams next summer (three weeks to make up for six months is a joke but that’s a story for another time), I understand the importance of being at school.  

I agree that education is vital, and is a primary source of childcare. However, this government must close schools. For a group of people “directed by the science”, they seem to care little for reality. Young people aged 10- to 19-years-old are one of the fastest-growing groups of new infections. And we will take it home to parents like my mother, who will die if she catches it.  

This government needs to realise that economies can be revived; human bodies cannot.  

Miraj Rahman-Blake

Hemel Hempstead

We know that the virus is mainly transferred via "shared air", both as droplets (two-metre range, short-lived) and aerosols (longer-range, persistent).

If you can smell someone's perfume/aftershave/cigarette-smoke, you're in range.

So, why isn't the messaging "WINDOWS, hands, face, space"?

Furthermore, socially-distanced outdoor activities are very low-risk, so we should be encouraging them, not restricting them.

Richard Neill

Cambridge

As a Palestinian born in Sabra refugee camp, I was saddened and devastated to hear of the loss of Robert Fisk.  Now more than ever as I watch my young son grow up, I feel as if he gave us perspective and understanding of an event and conflict that has taken me all the way to Canada.  He never forgot the bloodletting that occurred at Sabra and Shatila. And every year on its anniversary (and also my birthday) he never let the world forget. I woke up today and felt as if I lost my voice.    

Lou'ay A Sulaiman

Ontario, Canada