A MENTAL health charity has seen an increasing demand for help as the pressures of the pandemic continue to take their toll.

Carlisle Eden Mind said more and more people have accessed help since the national lockdown was lifted in July.

The charity has measured that of its total crisis calls, more than 35 per cent specifically related to Covid-19 or broader effects the pandemic and more recently a lot more men over the age of 40 have accessed support.

Michael Boaden, adult service manager, said: “More recently we certainly have seen an increase and we are getting a lot of people through now who are using our Mindline service and our other services.

“There was a period leading into the summer where our referrals didn’t go down but kind of plateaued.

“When the national lockdown was lifted and circumstances changed, then we saw referrals increasing and had a lot more contact from people. That hasn’t changed in the last five or six months.

“We anticipate these levels will continue and will continue to rise as we go into the next period.”

He explained that initially other agencies helped take the pressure of people and that in many cases, one of the things that exacerbates people’s mental health is financial stress.

Mr Boaden said: “I think people haven’t necessarily wanted to make approaches to health services at the peak point but I there will be increases all round in the coming months.

“I think it’s likely to go in that direction because of the multiple factors coming at people are going to affect people.

“It’s great news about the vaccine but people in the meantime will be struggling with issues.”

Between March 1 and October 31 the NHS received fewer mental health referrals than it had in the previous two years.

This year 4,583 referrals were made to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in Cumbria. It received 5,400 referrals during the same eight-month period last year and 5,23 in 2018.

In particular, trust saw a drastic downturn in referrals during the first two months of lockdown.

In April the number of people being referred for mental health conditions more than halved with 333 referrals made, compared to 668 in 2019. There were also 273 fewer people referred this May than there were last May.

Those referred between March and October this year waited an average of 24 days for an assessment.

David Muir, group director at CNTW trust, said: “We monitor our referrals closely and our teams work hard to maintain access for those who need to reach our services.

“Over the pandemic all our services remained open and we have offered a range of appointments, including direct face-to-face, via telephone and video consultation.

“We did see a down turn in referrals to some of our services in the initial months of the pandemic, referral activity has returned to normal levels in recent months for many of our services.

“For non-urgent mental health referrals, our target is 18 weeks which is line with NHS guidance on waiting times.”

Mindline - 0300 561 0000 - is open 365 days a year and is available to people across Cumbria. For more information visit cemind.org.