A regional daily has revealed the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on its patch in a special report.

The Yorkshire Evening Post has reported Leeds tops the tables for clinical commissioning groups that saw the highest rises in referrals for mental health help between February 2020 and March 2021.

Since 2016, the YEP has run the #SpeakYourMind campaign aimed at helping end the stigmatisation of people with mental health issues.

The campaign’s logo featured on the Leeds-based daily’s front page yesterday, pictured below, when it splashed on the fresh figures.

In an accompanying editorial, deputy editor Joseph Keith wrote: “Campaigners are today calling on the Government to step up support after new figures showed a shocking rise in the number of people being referred for urgent mental health care.

“Leeds CCG recorded a 118 per cent increase in referrals for mental health services between February 2020 and March 2021.

“And the average number of monthly referrals to ‘urgent crisis care’ rose by an astronomical 419 per cent from 2020-21 compared to 2019-20.

“It must be acknowledged that an increase could have been inevitable as people resisted accessing services during the height of the pandemic to ease the burden on the NHS.

“However, the figures clearly demonstrate lockdown’s impact upon mental health, as well as the economic hardship that has accompanied it for so many.”

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