A recent survey by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland found that, since the COVD-19 pandemic began in March 2020, nearly a third of Scots (32%) have suffered anxiety.

The survey was carried out by YouGov in early November 2021 of 1,080 people across Scotland, found that 78% believe demand for mental health services will increase after the pandemic.

The survey also found that 14% of Scots who had a mental health problem before March 2020 said the pandemic has made their condition worse. A further 6% said they developed a new mental health problem due to the pandemic.

The figures were released as the College launches its ‘Choose Psychiatry in Scotland’ campaign which aims to encourage more trainee doctors to choose the specialism.  Speaking to STV News, Dr Jane Morris, consultant psychiatrist from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said:

“These new statistics are worrying but not entirely surprising. We’re still living in a worldwide pandemic and there’s going to be an enormous fallout on people’s mental health. Being a psychiatrist is a really rewarding career, but training can take many years and we need to think about how we plug that gap. All our clinicians have been working hard throughout and will continue to do so as patient caseloads increase, and a clear and concise plan is needed now to manage us through the storm which is currently brewing.” - Dr Jane Morris, consultant psychiatrist, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland

Commenting on the survey results, Scotland’s mental wellbeing minister Kevin Stewart said:

“We know the pandemic has had a substantial impact on people’s mental health and will continue to do so. That’s why we’re delivering on the actions set out in our Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, backed by £120m, to ensure people can get the right help at the right time. We are investing an extra £4m to increase the capacity of NHS24’s Mental Health Hub – and we’ve also set up a £15m fund to tackle the impact of social isolation and mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic. In addition, as part of our Programme for Government, we will ensure that by 2026 every GP practice will have access to a mental health and wellbeing service, creating 1000 additional dedicated staff to help grow community mental health resilience and direct social prescribing.” - Kevin Stewart, Scottish Government mental wellbeing minister

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If you’re going through a difficult time for any reason, our counsellors are trained to help you explore your feelings and experiences in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment. 

HDS also works with organisations, large and small, to offer counselling and psychotherapy as part of their Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP). 

Our counsellors and therapists have broad experience of working with employees in the public, private and third sectors across Scotland. 

HDS can offer face-to-face, online or telephone counselling.

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