This week’s blog is from Dr Sara Munro, CEO for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Hello, my name is Sara.

I’m sure like me, you are shocked and saddened to witness the distressing scenes emerging from Ukraine.

There is nothing new I can say that hasn’t already been said about the situation. Whether you are originally from Ukraine, have friends and family living there or have served in the armed forces, the effects can be felt far and wide. Certainly, everyone I know is distressed by this, including Russian people I’ve met living in this country, who are able to access truthful accounts of the invasion and who are equally deserving of our support and compassion.

In line with our values, our natural reaction is that we want to help. The best thing we can do is to seek out the established organisations and charities who are already fully engaged on the ground making sure aid and supplies reach the right people. At a national level, efforts are being coordinated to provide medical care and treatment.

There are also support networks available for people who are affected.  For example, if you or someone you know is a veteran and is struggling with their mental health and wellbeing, there is a range of dedicated support available as part of Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain has branches in Keighley, Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds. Please share with people who may need support.

In terms of our own work as a Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism (MHLDA) Programme, we were already seeing increased demand for mental health services before the conflict and the war will surely add to that.

For people who work and volunteer in the West Yorkshire health and care system, the Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub offers a range of resources, including family therapy and access to one-to-one therapy that can help you and the people in your team.  I urge you to take advantage of this service if you’re experiencing feelings that you are finding difficult to cope with. 

A further effect of this dreadful war will be to push up the cost of living even more – petrol prices are volatile and adding a big burden to hard-pressed households, energy costs are set to rise from 1 April and food prices are creeping up, with some goods in short supply. Further afield, there are concerns about the supply of grain to the global south, which could result in major problems for people in some of the world’s poorest countries.

At our West Yorkshire sector leads meeting this week we discussed the concerns about rising fuel and energy costs for our workforce.  We have been advised discussions are taking place at a national level with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), unions and relevant government departments and to await the outcomes of those.  In the meantime, I know many of our organisations can provide staff with access to other benefits to help reduce costs and, in some instances, financial advice and guidance.  So do check in with your organisation if this would be of help to you.  Our West Yorkshire Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub is also working with partners to make a whole raft of financial support resources available soon. 

Our clinical services continue to work extremely hard to deliver safe and effective care during these ongoing difficult times. Our system has been through a tough period of high staff unavailability which thankfully is now improving.  However, the backlog and waiting times in many of our services are a real challenge.  Whilst the focus is often on acute care waiting lists, we are particularly concerned about long waits in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autistic Diagnostic Services, and we have commissioned some further work on these services through the MHLDA Programme Board to help develop longer term solutions.

As we look ahead to World Autism Acceptance Week next week, and Autism Awareness Month throughout April, we welcome some good news. Leeds autism service is now a research site for the STRATA trial looking at treatment for anxiety in adult autism. Anxiety is common in autistic adults, and many find it to be very disabling. This is hugely important as until now there has been very little good quality evidence on effective treatments for mental health problems in autism - better research into interventions for mental health conditions in people with autism was recently identified as the “number one priority” by autistic people and other stakeholders. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) identified this area as a major gap in the evidence and funded this study. Our Programme is working hard to tackle the challenges of autism and a “deep dive” is planned for this spring and summer. You can find out more about our work in this field on the Partnership website.

And finally, Covid-19 of course is still with us. It’s not making many headlines right now because of other world events but as restrictions have relaxed, community transmission has increased, our acute trusts are admitting more people and we continue to manage outbreaks within inpatient services in mental health, acute and care home setting. Getting vaccinated, continuing to test yourself and taking sensible precautions are still necessary and are part of our way of “living with Covid”, at least for now!