COVID-19 INQUIRY: ‘Inadequate Emphasis’ on Mental Health During Pandemic, Psychologists Say

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The Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporated (AAPi) raised concerns that there had not been enough focus on mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The association noted the mental health impact of the pandemic, especially during lockdowns, was “significant” as part of its submission to the Australian Government COVID-19 Response Inquiry.

More than 2,000 submissions to the inquiry were published on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website on March 27.

“AAPi were concerned that during the pandemic inadequate emphasis on the need to access mental health support was provided,” the submission said (pdf).

The association suggested that during lockdowns, public health messaging should include emphasis on psychological support.

“Particularly during times of crisis, such as snap lockdowns, crisis support lines should have been prominently displayed along with the urging of people to reach out for support and the continuation of psychological treatment,” the group said.

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The not-for-profit peak body representing over 10,000 members also recommended allowing individuals to refer themselves to psychologists during pandemics, to reduce the burden on GP clinics.

“This would ensure, for future pandemics, that GPs could focus on physical health appointments, and clients would not need to wait for weeks or months before accessing support for their mental health.”

Further, the association highlighted there was a widely acknowledged psychology workforce shortage that showed “no signs of easing.”

“Meaningful strategies should be adopted to address labor shortages, including facilitating paid placements for student and provisional psychologists as well as allowing the 8,000 provisional psychologists in Australia to be able to work under the Medicare system, to support regional and rural psychologists to live and study in their home towns, to diversify psychology training and study pathways by reopening the 4+2 pathway, and workforce upskilling to meet industry demands,” the association said.

AAPi also suggested that future COVID-19 responses should include the “unique needs” of various populations including gender, age groups, socio-economic status, geographic location, people with disabilities, First Nations peoples, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

The association said the Australian government had shown commendable dedication to addressing COVID-19 but noted there was room for improvement in multiple key areas including mental health and disparities in the psychology profession.

“By taking action in these areas, we can better prepare our healthcare system for future crises and ensure the well-being of both the public and the dedicated professionals who serve them,” the association said.

The COVID-19 inquiry is chaired by Robyn Kruk, former NSW health secretary, and includes panel members professor Catherine Burnett, an expert in infectious diseases, and Angela Jackson, a health economist.

Submissions have only been published with agreement from the author, the inquiry panel noted.

“We have been overwhelmed by the openness and willingness of the more than 2,000 people and organisations who have taken the time to share their insights and experiences,” the panel said.

“There was a common theme in the submissions of wanting to capture the lessons learned, before they were lost to the passage of time. Four years on since the start of the pandemic, as a panel, we share that sense of importance and urgency to better prepare for a future event.”

Pharmacists Raise Concern About ICU Bed Medicine

Meanwhile, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) has drawn attention to the lack of consideration being given for medicines used in ICU beds. This group represents more than 6,100 hospital pharmacists.

The medicines include propofol, midazolam, and fentanyl, which are induction agents for intubation and sedative agents for ventilation.

“While the release of modelling and collaborative efforts between federal and state governments enabled Australian hospitals to rapidly increase the number of their ICU beds by 250 percent, consideration of medicines required to use these beds were unfortunately not prioritised,” the professional organisation said (pdf).

The group also highlighted there were limits on hospital orders to stop stockpiling, but hospitals were simply trying to gain access to critical medicines.

“Lack of transparent communication between medicines manufacturers and wholesalers and the jurisdictional governments or hospitals eventually led to unreasonable restrictions being placed on hospital orders to prevent ‘stockpiling,’ with manufacturers determining supply based on ‘historic’ orders,” the submission noted.

SHPA said in an evolving landscape of a global pandemic, it would be “inappropriate” to rely on historic orders to inform supply decisions.

“Furthermore, stockpiling, a terminology used to describe unnecessary compiling of resources, did not accurately describe the actions of hospitals seeking to obtain critical medicines necessary to treat patients in an anticipated volume requested by jurisdictional preparedness plans.”

The group suggested that in the future, hospitals should be provided more support to “drastically scale operations” during the pandemic response.

In addition, they said hospital pharmacies should be represented in key committees involved in medicines during the pandemic response.

The society noted hospital pharmacists played a “critical role” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Lasting Impact’ on Alcohol Marketing: Foundation

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education has raised concerns COVID-19 had “lasting impacts” on how alcohol is sold and marketed, resulting in harms.

“During COVID-19, alcohol companies and retailers took advantage of the pandemic to sell more alcohol,” the foundation said in its submission (pdf).

“Alcohol companies invested significantly in digital marketing and in expanding their capacity to deliver alcohol, outpacing privacy and marketing regulation.”

The group said alcohol companies used the COVID-19 pandemic to market to people who were “most vulnerable.”

“An analysis of alcohol ads on meta platforms, just after stay-at-home restrictions were introduced, found nearly three-quarters of ads (71 percent) explicitly or implicitly referenced the COVID-19 pandemic,” the group noted.

“Two-thirds (66 percent) of the alcohol ads also had a ‘Shop now’ or ‘Get offer’ button linking directly to their online store.”