Introduction COVID‐19 has impacted people with dementia and their family carers, yet little is known about effects on overall quality of life. Methods In a UK cohort study, pre‐ and post‐pandemic data were collected from 114 carers and 93 recently diagnosed people with dementia. Latent growth curve modeling examined change in quality of life. Results Carers reported significant decline in quality of life, although no change was demonstrated by people with dementia. In multivariable analyses, higher levels of cognitive impairment, deprivation, study site, and lower number of memory clinic contacts were associated with greater decline in carer quality of life. Discussion Maintaining life quality for people with dementia during the pandemic appears to have come at the expense of their family carers. This inequity has fallen hardest on those caring for people with more severe dementia, in deprived areas, and with least support from memory services. These effects may be prevented or reversed by post‐diagnostic care.

Aims Sleep problems are common in people with a psychosis‐spectrum diagnosis and are associated with worse psychotic symptoms and lower quality of life. Sleep problems are also frequent in individuals at a clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR‐P) however, less is known about the prevalence and association with symptoms in this population. This study investigates the prevalence of sleep problems within CHR‐P individuals and the associations with attenuated positive symptoms, transition to psychosis, time to transition to psychosis and functioning. Methods The clinical records interactive search (CRIS) tool was used to carry out a retrospective study of 795 CHR‐P individuals. Sleep problems, subsequent psychotic diagnoses, attenuated positive symptoms and Health of The Nation Outcome Scale scores were extracted. Regression models were used to examine the association between sleep problems and clinical outcomes. Results 59.5% of CHR‐P individuals experienced sleep problems. Perceptual abnormality severity (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.05–1.48) and frequency (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.08–1.58) as measured by the Comprehensive Assessment of At‐Risk Mental State interview, predicted sleep problems. Sleep problems were not associated with transition to psychosis; however, they were significantly associated with a shorter time to transition in individuals who developed psychosis (HR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.05–1.88) and higher follow‐up Health of the Nation Outcome Scale scores (MD = 2.26, 95% CI = 0.55–3.96). Conclusions The high prevalence of sleep problems, along with the association with positive symptoms and worse functioning, highlights the need for effective sleep interventions in this population. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between sleep problems and transition to psychosis.

The lockdown and social distancing policy imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a widespread impact on mental healthcare for both services themselves and the people accessing those services. Previous reports from the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM; a large mental health service provider for 1.2m residents in South London) highlighted a shift to virtual contacts among those accessing community mental health and home treatment teams and an increase in deaths over the pandemic first wave. However, there is a need to understand this further for specific groups, including those diagnosed with a personality disorder who might have particular vulnerabilities. Taking advantage of the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) data resource with 24-hourly updates of electronic mental health records data, this paper describes daily caseloads and contact numbers (face-to-face and virtual) for individuals with personality disorders across community, specialist, crisis and inpatient services. The report focussed on the period 1st January to 31st May 2020. We also report on daily accepted and discharged trust referrals, total trust caseloads and daily inpatient admissions and discharges for individuals with personality disorders. In addition, daily deaths are described for all current and previous SLaM service users with personality disorder over this period. In summary, comparing periods before and after 16th March 2020 there was a shift from face-to-face contacts to virtual contacts across all teams. Liaison and Older Adult teams showed the largest drop in caseloads, whereas Early Intervention in Psychosis service caseloads remained the same. Reduced accepted referrals and inpatient admissions were observed and there was a 28% increase in average daily deaths in the period after 16th March, compared to the period 1st January to 15th March.