Covid-19: Europe’s Covid hotspot and GP appointments not for all

“I couldn’t even walk into a supermarket, within a few seconds it was like a barrier had come down,” Colin Stubbings said. “I felt like I had lost a part of myself, like I didn’t know who I was or where I fitted in society.” The 53-year-old from Nottingham says a mix of severe mental health problems, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, left him unable to leave his house. People living with a severe mental illness are very likely to be out of work – the employment rate for the group is thought to be as low as 7%. Although a pioneering approach is meant to change that, the NHS rollout has been slower than planned – partly because of Covid.