Deputy President of the Senate Elizabeth Thompson has called for a health policy that puts mental health high on the agenda, particularly as it relates to COVID-19.
Thompson said yesterday the time had come for Barbados to deal seriously with mental health issues because they had become a major residual impact of COVID-19 on many people who had recovered from the virus.
In her contribution on the last day of debate on the Appropriation Bill 2022, Thompson spoke about a “high level of stigmatisation”, saying that people who like her had been stricken with the viral illness had often found themselves being shunned.
“It is a highly stigmatised disease and what we now have is a community of stigmatised persons, because whole families have come down with it, we have had people who have died from it, people who have lost income from it, people who are grappling with long COVID.” (GC)
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