COVID-19-related consultation-liaison (CL) mental health services in general hospitals: A perspective from Europe and beyond

COVID-19 healthcare and social-related needs from the perspective of Spanish patients and healthcare providers: a qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions

“…Specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, these networks could offer emotional and practical support for patients and their relatives during home isolation and hospitalization, and provide information and strategies to caregivers. Similarly, implementing a liaison mental health program to support individuals impacted by COVID-19, including patients and family members, can provide essential psychological support in the short, medium, and long term ( 42 ). This type of programs could offer coping strategies, resources, and comprehensive care for all affected individuals.…”

“…These networks could provide support for child care, and also afford professionals the opportunity to engage in activities unrelated to COVID-19, allowing them much-needed respite. Additionally, implementing specific liaison mental health programs for healthcare workers has also been shown to support their mental health, and can equip them with strategies for coping with the fear of infection, continuous isolation due to working closely with COVID-19 patients, increased workload, redeployment, and managing stress, anxiety, and depression in a rapidly changing landscape ( 42 , 43 ). Further, mental health programs could facilitate addressing the identified need for continuous proactive evaluation of healthcare providers’ physical and psychological health, and enable organizations to take tangible actions to address chronic burnout, post-traumatic stress, and other complications.…”

Integrated care policy recommendations for complex multisystem long term conditions and long COVID

“…In the USA, 40 Long COVID clinics were established and calls for changes to service configuration have been made to support the care of people with complex multiple long term conditions, integrating appropriate services to provide coordinated patient-centered care 23,51 . In Europe, studies have reported some of the logistical adaptations needed to provide these services in the context of the pandemic, both for comorbid mental disorders in the general hospital setting 52 and for the diagnosis of Long COVID in the primary care setting 53,54 . In Africa, health care organization, delivery system design, a clinical information system, self-management support, community linkages, and trained educators and decision support to link informed, activated patients and prepared proactive teams are identified as critical components of collaborative care for complex multiple long term conditions 55 .…”

“…It combined more than 1400 responses from nearly 500 survey participants and was supported by patients, clinicians, and charitable and professional organisations across the UK. This enabled the integration of views from different stakeholder groups, going beyond similar research where patients' involvement was not incorporated at all or any stages 52 . Incorporating views relevant to Long COVID and complex multiple long term conditions and the findings highlighting the similarities in health care priorities is novel and another strength of the study.…”