Cost of living crisis will hamper city’s struggle to recover from Covid
THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN SUFFERING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
DERBY’S public health chief says she is very concerned that the cost of living crisis could exacerbate the city’s “enormous” efforts to overcome the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Robyn Dewis, director of public health for Derby, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the city has “a huge challenge ahead” as she is set to publish a new report which lays bare the impacts the pandemic has had on the city and people’s health.
Worryingly the report – set to be published by Derby City Council in the coming weeks – will reveal that thousands of children in Derby have been suffering from mental health issues throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Dewis told a Derby City Council health meeting on Thursday that research had shown that around 4,500 children in Derby have suffered with mental health issues from the past two years.
The report is also likely to detail how childhood obesity figures have increased in the city and how people have struggled for access to vital health services during the pandemic and the knock-on effects arising from that.
Dr Dewis said focus groups had alerted that thousands of children in Derby were going to school feeling stressed about the virus and its effect on loved ones, feeling pressures from completing schoolwork at home and being socially isolated.
She told the council’s health and wellbeing board meeting: “Children have been worried about the virus themselves but also about members of their family who could be significantly impacted by contracting the virus – that’s significant for them thinking they could potentially transmit the virus to vulnerable family members.
“There’s also been job losses among young people, parents and carers and this has added to that tension and stress for young people and concerns about finances.”
Dr Dewis also warned that Covid was far from over and advised people to ensure vulnerable residents were still kept as safe as possible from coronavirus. She said people with symptoms should stay at home and avoid the risk of transmitting. Speaking after the meeting, Dr Dewis said she was very concerned that the cost of living crisis could make the city’s recovery from the pandemic much tougher. She said: “I think we’ve got a huge challenge ahead. We knew before the pandemic we had issues with health and inequalities and been struggling to tackle them for many years and we know this period (Covid) has made it worse. It will be a huge amount of work but we’ve got partnerships in the city that we’ve never had before We are now in a position where we are most able to tackle this.
“All that work we’ve done has put us in a good position but the challenge is enormous. My concern is the cost of living issues that are coming this year are going to exacerbate that considerably. That’s a real concern.
“There are indirect impacts around how the cost of living is going to impact on people’s health over the coming months – particularly from a heating and diet perspective. There may be people not using the tumble dryer and drying washing in rooms and getting damp in their houses. I don’t think we fully understand the impact it is going to have.”
This week it was reported how the Derby city branch of the National Education Union expressed concern that the cost of living crisis could see children in Derby go to school feeling cold and hungry and worried about loved ones.