Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what wellbeing and mental health support he is making available to vulnerable people shielding during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Every Mind Matters site is available to everyone with advice and practical steps that people can take to support their wellbeing and manage their mental health during this pandemic. Anyone concerned about their mental health should speak to their general practitioner or existing care team or can access further advice via NHS.UK. Online self-referral options are commonly available for some services including children and young people’s mental health services, and psychological therapies services for adults with common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

All mental health providers, including providers of psychological therapies, have been issued with guidance to encourage them to deliver care remotely so that vulnerable groups can receive care safely and 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines have been established in all parts of England to provide support and advice to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

On 23 November 2020, we published our Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, which set outs the support available for individuals in the context of a second wave and the winter months, including for vulnerable people. It sets out the steps we have taken to strengthen the support available for people who are struggling, our commitments to ensure services are there to support those who need it and the provision in place to keep frontline workers well.