York to take 'generation' to recover from Covid - city health boss

There is a "great deal of work" to be done following the pandemic, York health boss Sharon Stoltz says

The toll Covid and lockdowns have had on people's health and wellbeing in York will take "a generation to recover from", a health chief has said.

Sharon Stoltz, the city's director of public health, said alcohol use had risen and many people had gained weight since the start of the pandemic.

The longer term effects had also had "massive" implications, she warned.

In her annual report, Ms Stoltz said children and young people had been particularly badly affected.

She told senior councillors in her report that York had "suffered hugely" over the past two years.

"We know alcohol use has gone up. We know people have experienced weight gain," she said.

"We know there have been particular impacts on individuals' mental health - and we know those factors have also had an impact on an increase of domestic abuse."

Alcohol use has gone up since the start of the Covid pandemic, Ms Stoltz says

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, health staff in York had reported a pattern of delayed development in so-called "Covid babies", particularly around speech and language, but also sensory and cognitive development.

Ms Stoltz added she was sure that cancelled cancer screenings and restricted access to primary care during the pandemic would have led to shorter life expectancies and an increase in the number of excess deaths.

She recommended that a new plan for children and young people was drawn up for York in the aftermath of Covid as they had been particularly hard hit.

"There's a great deal of work that needs to be done as we come out of the pandemic," she added.

"Some of our most vulnerable residents will have suffered the worst impacts of the pandemic and are now experiencing the worst impacts of the cost of living."

A total of 512 York residents had died up to August 2022 with Covid shown on their death certificates and about 3,000 people were also suffering with long Covid, figures show.