Fears over Covid-19's impact on mental health is raised to ministers by Portsmouth MP

Stephen Morgan, Portsmouth South MP, has demanded answers over what assessment the government has made on the effect of Covid-19 on mental health.

In a written question to ministers at the Department for Health and Social Care, the Labour MP also sought to find out when new mental health reforms would be introduced.

It comes amid warnings Britain was on the cusp of a new mental health ‘crisis’.

Sarah Hughes, chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health, said: ‘Covid-19 is a health emergency like nothing else in living memory. It has already been widely recognised that the pandemic will have major effects on mental as well as physical health. The evidence we have reviewed shows that this must be taken seriously. We need to be prepared for a rise in the number of people experiencing poor mental health, both short-term and potentially for some time to come.’

Health minister Nadine Dorries said the government was ‘committed’ to bring new reforms in and was working with the NHS and Public Health England on a new long-term mental health ‘recovery support’ plan.