Addiction fears over impact of lockdown

Substance misuse service chief warns of spike in referrals due to isolation

The severity of lockdown on people suffering from mental health and addiction issues will not be known for a long time to come, it has been warned.

Substance misuse support services have already seen an increase in people seeking help since the start of the pandemic but it is feared there are many more people whose mental health has deteriorated during lockdown, or who have developed addictions.

Kathryn Baker, chief executive of Tayside Council on Alcohol (TCA), fears that while lockdown reduced the spread of coronavirus, it may have created a raft of other problems.

“We are absolutely seeing an increase in referrals for alcohol support services,” she said.

“We know alcohol consumption has gone up for a lot of people during lockdown, for a variety of reasons.

“It may be that for some people, as their lives return to normal, so will their alcohol intake, but for a lot of people drinking is very habitual. It is very easy to slip into a routine of a bottle of wine after work and that can increase quickly.

“In our culture there is very much an attitude of treating alcohol as stress relief... and what starts off as ‘I’ve had a tough day so I’ll have a glass of wine’ can turn into an addiction.”

While lockdown, coupled with furlough, has seen many people slip into isolation, Kathryn fears the problem is also extending to people who have worked through the pandemic.

“We are beginning to see the impact on frontline staff who have powered through this whole time, just getting on with things as best they can, but they haven’t been able to do the things they would normally do to destress like exercise or retail therapy, so they have been drinking more,” she said.

“It can be a big help if you have a good support network of family and friends and that is part of the problem for a lot of people we see – they don’t have that support network to fall back on.”

TCA helps operate the Safe Zone bus in Dundee, which usually caters for weekend revellers in the city centre, but when pubs closed it was repurposed to help the homeless and vulnerable.

Dundee is the only city in Scotland to host a bus of this kind, which provides minor medical treatment and guidance on where to access support for food packages, addiction, homelessness and mental health problems.

On Friday, staff marked the seventh anniversary of the project, and the first anniversary of the new bus, which was refurbished by Dundee-based Alexander’s Community Development and Froggy’s Chop Shop.

The bus has been visiting Lochee on Saturday nights and the service is to be expanded to Stobswell and Hilltown in the coming weeks.

Since operating from Lochee, 199 people have visited the bus. Most required welfare support but 70 people were given nursing or community care.

At Friday’s event Kathryn thanked all of the supporters who have helped keep the bus running, saying: “It allows us to see the people who need us, when they need us and where they are.”

TCA can be contacted by calling 01382 456012.