Mental health support to be developed for coronavirus patients

Liaison psychiatrist Dr Nadine Cossettee, of the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, has been commissioned by the Scottish Government to develop the plan.

Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said: “We know that treatment in Intensive Care and High Dependency Units can be particularly difficult for patients. This has been exacerbated in recent times by the fact that families have not been able to visit their loved ones.

“People are resilient and most will go on to make a full recovery. However for some, there is a higher risk of developing mental health issues.

“We want to do everything we can to make recovery easier, and that is why the Scottish Government commissioned Dr Nadine Cossette to examine mental health support provision for Covid-19 patients.

“Dr Cossette has been involved in developing a new patient pathway for patients in NHS Lothian and she brings a great deal of expertise to this role.

“Scotland already has an internationally renowned programme in ICU aftercare – the InS:PIRE rehabilitation programme offers peer support, multidisciplinary treatment and social prescribing. Dr Cossette’s practical recommendations will help us build on this success to improve support for patients across Scotland.

“Further to this work, we are also developing a Rehabilitation and Recovery Framework to guide services on managing physical, mental and social effects of Covid-19, which we hope to publish in early August.”