Irish journal of psychological medicine
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COVID-19 and its effect on emergency presentations to a tertiary hospital with self-harm in Ireland.
This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on presentations to an acute hospital with self-harm. ⋯ COVID-19 showed a reduction in self-harm presentations initially, followed by a sharp increase in May 2020. If a period of economic instability follows as predicted, it is likely that this will further impact the mental health of the population, along with rates of self-harm and suicidal behaviours. There is a need for research into the longer-term effect of COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions, especially with respect to self-harm.
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To determine if the initial COVID-19 societal restrictions, introduced in Ireland in March 2020, impacted on the number and nature of psychiatry presentations to the emergency department (ED) of a large academic teaching hospital. ⋯ Rates of emergency presentation with mental illness reduced during the initial COVID-19 restrictions. This may represent an unmet burden of mental health needs. Younger people may be experiencing greater distress and mental illness during the current crisis. More people sought help for anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 restrictions compared with corresponding data from 2018 and 2019.
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shift globally from face-to-face consultations to remote consultations. In our department, remote consultations have taken in the form of telephone consultations. In this paper, we set out to study a group of Irish psychiatrists' experience of these consultations. ⋯ The group that participated in this research study identified a number of challenges to carrying out successful phone consultations. This study highlights the need at our clinical site for interventions to address the issues identified by staff. The findings also highlight the requirement for larger studies with stronger methodologies to determine the generalisability of our results.
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To examine the psychological and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with established anxiety disorders during a period of stringent mandated social restrictions. ⋯ The psychological and social impact of COVID-19 restrictions on individuals with pre-existing anxiety disorders has been modest with only minimal increases in symptomatology or social impairment noted.