Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, stakeholders warned that insufficient resources were being dedicated to mental health management in the public healthcare system. Where there currently exists only one mental hospital on the island with the majority of patients treated in their communities and sent back home.

However, the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as its impact on the availability of healthcare for mental health issues, prompted experts to issue a mental health epidemic warning earlier this year- as practitioners reported that up to 97 percent of those surveyed admitted to needing psychosocial support.

In this CVM Live Panel Discussion, we discuss mental health and the COVID19 pandemic, with Professor Wendel Able consultant psychiatrist, therapist, and head of the Department of Community Health & Psychiatry at UWI, and Carol Narcisse a member of Jamaica Civil Society Coalition.