Gloucestershire 'Be Well' mental health service starts

People struggling with stress, anxiety and isolation are being offered support through a new campaign to improve access to mental health services.

The service - known as Be Well Gloucestershire - details where help is available and how to access it.

Consultant psychological therapist Alex Burrage said the service was preparing for "a surge" of people after lockdown.

Laura Canty contemplated ending her life when she had postnatal depression and said it was vital to seek help.

"I hadn't really come to terms with the fact I was poorly and suffering with depression at all, until in the middle of the night I came up with the solution and the solution was to end my life," she said.

Ms Canty gave birth in 2018 and she and her son Arthur spent three months in a mother and baby unit while she received the help she needed.

"There is definitely hope on the other side," she added.

The campaign website has been set up by the NHS, alongside local councils and charities, and will initially run for a year.

Ms Burrage, who is also clinical lead for Gloucestershire's Let's Talk service, said: "This has been going on for so long now, and we know that lots of people have lost many things including people they love and care about."

She said mental health centres were prepared for a surge in enquiries as social distancing restrictions and the pandemic continue.

Dr Mala Ubhi, the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group lead GP for mental health, said: "Structures have changed for people, their routines are different, people are finding pressures of isolation, home schooling ... we know that mental health issues are on the increase."

"I would encourage anyone who has found that daily anxieties have become more pronounced over the last few months to ask for help if they need it; because help is available."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]