Mental Health and Well-being after COVID-19

Part of Private Members' Business – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 6:00 pm on 23 June 2020.

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Photo of Philip McGuigan Philip McGuigan Sinn Féin 6:00, 23 June 2020

There is no doubt that the measures that were put in place by the Executive during the pandemic would be considered intolerable by everyone in normal circumstances. That those measures had to be put in place to save lives, stop the spread of coronavirus and protect our health service is also not in doubt and, to that end, they have been successful.

One of the positive aspects of the recent period is that communities have rallied round and people have tried their best to support their friends, families and neighbours. However, the reality is that some have struggled during lockdown, some more than others. Nowhere is that more evident than in the cases of people who suffer from poor mental health. Lockdown measures have placed additional challenges on people who were struggling already, so I welcome today's motion and thank those who tabled it and those who tabled the amendment. It gives us an opportunity to talk about those with poor mental health and about how we can improve their situation as we move out of lockdown.

Mental health covers a wide range of issues. Members have dealt with many aspects of mental health issues and solutions, eloquently and with great knowledge and empathy. I agree with their contributions.

I support fully the call for a detailed plan, including on how to rebuild and provide enhanced mental health and addiction services. It is on the subject of addiction and its services, or, unfortunately, lack of services in some cases, that I want to talk. I will always congratulate the Minister, and my constituency colleague, on his good work, when needs be, but I have to say that I am disappointed to see little or no mention of addiction in his strategic framework for rebuilding services in his mental health action plan or in his post-COVID plans.

Lockdown has had a detrimental impact on the mental health well-being of many individuals who are recovering from addiction. I know that because I have spoken to them. There have, obviously, been difficulties in some sectors engaging with service users, due to restrictions. For many, access to support groups formed a key part of their coping strategy and, for some, it was the ability to see friends regularly or to receive routine encouragement and support from family. Others saw their structured groups and services having to close, or experienced staff being redeployed to COVID-19 duties. What concerns me most about the legacy of lockdown is the fact that it is a lot easier to close a service than it is to reopen it.

Having to stay in the house, boredom, and the added stress or worry, perhaps, in situations where more disposable income is available, or in cases where less disposable income is available, have all contributed to the daily struggles of those who suffer from addiction, particularly those in early recovery. For the same reasons, lockdown will have exacerbated the problems for others who are not in recovery — practising alcoholics, prescription or illegal drug users, compulsive gamblers — and brought more despair to them and their families.

Addiction is an illness. It is, unfortunately, an illness that I have some expertise in, as a recovering alcoholic and compulsive gambler, but I am far from unique — far from it. Few families on this island are untouched by the illness of addiction. Statistics suggest that one in 10 people are dealing with alcoholism. Alcohol has become the third most common reason for why people are admitted to psychiatric wards. It is estimated that, every seven hours, somebody in Ireland — on this island — dies because of alcohol abuse. The statistics for illegal and prescription drug use are no better. It is similar for problem gambling, but problem gambling is not even recognised as a public health issue. That needs to be addressed urgently. Most health trusts do not keep records of those presenting with that illness. Despite that, we know that a problem gambler is 15 times more likely to take his or her own life as a result of their illness. We do not have any dedicated Health Department treatment centres here in the North to help problem gamblers. Some will have to pay for treatment in the South. That is not good enough.

Addiction not only ruins lives but costs lives by overuse or suicide.

The outworkings of addiction on society costs our health service vast sums. It costs the police, judicial and prison services vast sums, never mind the societal damage. We are engaged in a false economy. If we are talking about doing things better, why not try better to treat the illness and not the symptoms? Why not treat the illness in the way that we treat any other illness in the health service, with proper funds and resources?

Most people, thankfully, can take a drink, bet in the bookies or online, take prescription drugs or even illegal drugs without fear or hinder. Good luck to them, but for those who cannot —