The mental health impact of lockdown meant care home residents in Havering “barely got through” 2020, according to the borough’s social care directors.

Addressing the pressure services are still facing at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, February 16, Havering Council's director of adult services Barbara Nicholls said they had seen “a lot of breakdown” in 2021.

The director, whose service helps people with mental or physical disabilities, added: “There’s been mental health impact through lockdown in care homes with loved ones not seeing them and them not always understanding why not.

“There’s also physical deconditioning - we need to keep moving when we’re older, the more we physically do, the more we stay healthy… with lockdown, people also stopped moving about.”

Nicholls praised local NHS staff for “working tirelessly” and said she had worked with the hospitals to try and free up beds by taking patients into care, but added there are “a lot of very sick and unwell people”.

The council is footing the bill for those who leave hospital early, including for high-needs one-to-one support which can cost up to £5,000 a week.

In 2019/20 the council paid for one-to-one care for 18 people but, over the last year, that figure has been at least five times higher.

The adult services director added: “There’s been £2million of [increased] costs related to us paying over-the-usual rates because of the way care is commissioned.

“There’s £4m in additional one-to-one care home costs compared to pre-Covid, another £1m after the rules changed on how much we can claim back from the NHS.

“These are becoming big numbers when you add them up. Of course, we can’t afford to sit still, things for residents are just not good enough at the moment.”

Children’s social services has also seen a 20 per cent increase in referrals for mental health issues, domestic abuse, neglect and behavioural problems.

Director of children’s services Robert South said: “That pressure in the community is something that has had a considerable impact, in particular in the second year of the pandemic.”

Despite this, he praised the way the community has come together and the “spirit of dedication” from his staff.