Walsall: Mental health 'top priority' for council after pandemic

About 20% of Walsall's population has experienced mental health problems

A council said residents' mental health will be its "top priority" for 2022.

Before Covid, about 20% of Walsall's population had experienced mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, the council said.

Isolation during the pandemic is thought to have exacerbated existing problems, councillors added.

The authority is committing £1m in additional funding which will be spent improving mental health support over the next three years.

The area's director of public health, Stephen Gunter, said mental wellbeing was "a key priority for me and my team this coming year".

"I have seen the consequences that poor mental wellbeing can have upon family and friends and none of us are immune to it."

His annual report details a number of recommendations, including encouraging residents to "make a commitment to putting yourself first" and developing routines.

The council said its strategy for improving mental health was still being drawn up and details would be published later.

It said certain aggravating factors such as fuel poverty and involuntary unemployment as a result of disability and sickness were higher in Walsall than other local authority areas in England.

"The isolation caused by the pandemic and the anxiety levels that have increased because of Covid have had a huge impact on many people," councillor Stephen Craddock said.

"This report puts the importance of positive mental wellbeing right at the top of our list of priorities."