Trends in mental health referrals before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: retrospective population-based service evaluation in a single NHS trust
In a single county-wide mental health service in the UK, the prolonged and sustained increase in both referrals and activity post-pandemic was not matched by equal increase in resource to meet demand. Our findings may be useful to effectively plan mental health services before, during and after any future pandemics.
Authors
- Catherine Walsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6078-786X)
- Benjamin R. Underwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-9487)
- Jonathon D. Artingstall
- Shanquan Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4724-4892)
- Tamsin J Ford
- Zahir Zubair Shah
Institutions
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Fulbourn Hospital (GB)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BJPsych Open
- Published
- 2026-02-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10972
- Primary Topic
- Healthcare Systems and Technology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Department of Health and Social Care
- NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre