Mental health is not a luxury - it is a thread that runs through every part of the emergency cycle.

The VCS Emergencies Partnership Mental Health Network is a working group of the Emergencies Partnership (EP) which includes both partners of the EP and organisations from the wider voluntary and community sector. Established to better meet the needs of those who struggle, or are likely to struggle, with mental health issues during and following emergencies, the Network shares resources and learning that can support communities and challenge the stigma around mental health.

For the Network’s September meeting, the group carried out a tabletop exercise (TTX), run by and for key voluntary sector partners, to coincide with Exercise Pegasus. Participants considered the implications of a future pandemic on mental health, reflected on the lessons identified from COVID-19 and discussed how we can be better prepared and supported as a society.  

Pandemic preparedness

When we talk about pandemic preparedness it’s easy to focus on ventilators, vaccines, and virology. But what about the invisible crisis - the one that lingers for so long after the impacts of the pandemic become ‘business as usual’? 

Mental health is all too often treated as a secondary consideration in emergency planning. Yet, it is the very foundation of our collective resilience for individuals, communities, and the frontline services we rely on. 

The mental health toll of COVID-19 

Here’s what the data tells us: 

  • Depression more than doubled during the pandemic. In early 2021, 21% of UK adults experienced some form of depression - up from 10% pre-pandemic [1]. 

  • Anxiety and depression rose globally by 25%, with young people and women most affected [2]. 

  • NHS staff faced a surge in mental health-related absences, with a 73% increase in days lost to mental ill health during the first wave of COVID-19 [3]. 

And yet despite the clear and disproportionate effects on key workers, vulnerable groups, and the bereaved, mental health was not included in the original scope of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, only being added as a consideration in Module 10 more than two years after the inquiry began.

Mental health is not separate from physical health 

Mental health is not a silo. It is deeply intertwined with physical health and NHS capacity: 

  • People with long-term physical conditions are two to three times more likely to experience mental health problems [6]. 

  • Poor mental health increases the risk of hospital admissions, delayed recovery, impacts seeking help and reduces treatment cooperation. 

  • NHS staff burnout and trauma directly impact service delivery, staff retention, and thus patient safety [3]. 

We want a resilient society where people can thrive and overcome the challenges and hurdles that life throws at them, including emergencies and crises. That resilience relies upon a resilient NHS and a resilient Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector (VCFS), and that requires awareness, investment and attention in the mental health of our workforce as well as patients. 

What happens when crises collide? 

COVID-19 didn’t happen in a vacuum. It collided with: 

  • A cost-of-living crisis 

  • Digital exclusion 

  • Racial and health inequalities 

  • And the looming threat of concurrent emergencies - from heatwaves to power outages 

In a future pandemic, we may face very different and unforeseen challenges. What if the next crisis hits during a cyberattack, a flood, or a supply chain breakdown? We cannot afford to treat mental health as a “nice to have.” It is a critical risk factor and a powerful lever for resilience. 

The time to build is now 

We must stop waiting for the crisis to start before we act - by the time it hits, it’s already too late. 

We need to: 

  • Invest in social cohesion and community networks that can withstand shocks. 

  • Embed mental health into emergency planning — from Exercise Pegasus to Local Authorities to VCS partners. 

  • Fund essential local providers who can reach the most marginalised, and by default, enable partnership working including mechanisms to ensure collaboration and data sharing protocols in advance of a crisis. 

  • Support the mental health of frontline staff as a matter of critical operational readiness. 

  • Balance digital innovation with analogue access so that no one is left behind.

We need to put people at the heart, from the start 

Mental health is not a luxury. It is not a side issue. It is not someone else’s job. 

It is a thread that runs through every part of our emergency preparedness, response, and recovery from the first press conference to the last recovery plan. If we want to build a truly resilient society, we must put people at the heart, from the start. 

BlogGeorgia AllenMental Health, Exercising, COVID19, Lessons