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Impact of Covid-19 on people's mental health could last up to two decades, health chief warns

The impact of Covid-19 on people's mental health could last for up to two decades, a hospital chief in the Black Country has warned.

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WOLVERHAMPTON PIC COPYRIGHT DAVID HAMILTON EXPRESS AND STAR PIC 24/11/2015 In the new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre, at New Cross Hospital, Chief Executive of The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust David Loughton CBE..

David Loughton told a public board meeting the pandemic's effect on people would linger for a "considerable" amount of time.

It came after a senior sister on the intensive care unit at New Cross Hospital spoke of the "horrendous" impact the virus has had.

Mr Loughton, chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust which runs the hospital, said: "If we go back to Sunday, March 8, last year, the first death, it was only the fourth death in the country.

"Now we're in a different place and staff need more support now than they did then and ­ everyone has heard me say this thousands of times, but nobody went into nursing, nobody went into the NHS, to watch death on the scale we've seen.

"If you would've told me after the sad death [on March 8 last year] we would've had 127,000 deaths – it's just been on an unbelievable scale. We will be dealing with the mental health problems [caused by Covid-19] for the next two decades - we will live with this for a considerable period of time and the good thing that has happened is friendships have been made."

Mr Loughton said the death toll of the pandemic had been on an "unbelievable scale" as he stressed the importance of helping support staff – and others – to recover from the mental health impact of the virus.

He told board members about the particular impact Covid has had on the mental health of young people – due to the restrictions put in place which has led to them not being able to see their friends.

Gerardine Hardisty, from the ICU at the hospital, highlighted the pandemic had impacted staff both from a personal and a work point of view – but praised her colleagues for banding together, and for the "fantastic" support offered by the trust.

She made her comments after the story of Darren Buttrick, a survivor of coronavirus from Coven in South Staffordshire, was shared with board members after he returned to thank NHS staff for saving his life.

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