Study into COVID-19 Crisis Using Primary Care Mental Health Consultations and Prescriptions Data

Abstract

The effect of the 2020 pandemic, and of the national measures introducedto control it, is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigatehow different types of primary care data can help quantify the effect of thecoronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis on mental health. A retrospective cohortstudy investigated changes in weekly counts of mental health consultations andprescriptions. The data were extracted from one the UK’s largest primary caredatabases between January 1st 2015 and October 31st 2020 (end of follow-up). The2020 trends were compared to the 2015-19 average with 95% confidence intervalsusing longitudinal plots and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).A total number of 504 practices (7,057,447 patients) contributed data.During the period of national restrictions, on average, there were 31% (3957 ± 269,p < 0.001) fewer events and 6% (4878 ± 1108, p < 0.001) more prescriptions perweek as compared to the 2015-19 average. The number of events was recovering,increasing by 75 (± 29, p = 0.012) per week. Prescriptions returned to the 2015-19levels by the end of the study (p = 0.854). The significant reduction in the numberof consultations represents part of the crisis. Future service planning and qualityimprovements are needed to reduce the negative effect on health and healthcare