COVID-19 and mental health resources 

National strategic approach 

• WHO briefing on mental health and psychosocial considerations during COVID-19 
• Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidance for national mental health strategic response to COVID. This proposes a number of early activities for assessing need, identifying gaps and strengthening the response.  

Frontline workforce wellbeing 

• Guidance on supporting healthcare workers on the frontline has been produced by the British Psychological Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists  
• For those working on intensive care, there is particular guidance for their wellbeing from the Intensive Care Society  
• For nurses in general there is a poster of self-care and wellbeing tips from the Royal College of Nursing 
• For doctors the Royal College of Physicians has produced a page of guidance and resources  

• The IASC guidance referenced above suggests the following actions for leaders and managers to support the wellbeing of frontline staff:
  • Supportively monitor staff mental health and wellbeing regularly 
  • Ensure good, regular communication to allay concerns/worries 
  • Ensure that staff rest and recuperate appropriately 
  • Encourage peer support and forums to raise concerns and ask questions 
  • Facilitate access to and ensure staff are aware of their mental health and psychological support (on-site and remote) 

International resources

• Stories from the field is a blog series from WHO and MHIN sharing innovation and best practice through personal accounts from health care and health systems workers around the world.
• The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network have issued this toolkit on managing COVID-19

Advice and Guidance to the Public on mental health and wellbeing 

• Public Health England have published advice to the public on managing their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic  
• Within PHE’s Every Mind Matters campaign there is specific guidance on looking after your mental health, including for those isolating at home  
• There is also advice on the NHS website that people can use to support their own mental wellbeing 
• Equally Well UK have produced a new guide for people living with severe mental illness to protect and support their physical health 

Children and Young People 

• The impact of this pandemic on children should not be underestimated. Specific UK guidance has been produced for parents and carers 
• The Anna Freud National Centre for Children & Families has produced a toolkit for schools to support children and young people’s mental health during COVID  

Dementia 

For people with dementia, the UK Alzheimer’s society has produced guidance for individuals with dementia and their carers