Abstract
The Sri Lanka Journal of Psychiatry (SLJP) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal published bi annually by the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists.The Journal publishes original papers, brief reports including case reports and commentaries relevant to psychiatry and allied sciences. The Sri Lanka Journal of Psychiatry is committed to maintaining and conforming to the editorial and ethical standards recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.Cover: Doorways: When one is ill, having somewhere to stay, where one is looked after, is usually a relief to the patient who is not well and his/her family. The picture shows the doorway to what remains of an ancient hospital in Mihintale, said to date back two millennia. Thilini Rajapakse, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees
The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the need to ensure availability of essential generic psychotropic medications at all levels of health care, and that people living with long-term mental health conditions will need uninterrupted access to their medication without sudden discontinuation [3, 4]
In keeping with the WHO recommendation that an epidemic calls for partnerships that link a hospital to local health care workers, service providers, and the community, mental health workers worked beyond their normal duties and utilized postal services and primary health care staff to deliver medication to patients’ homes
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees. It has spread to over 200 countries with more than two million infected persons and nearly 200,000 deaths at the time of writing this commentary. Communicable diseases are not new and have been in existence from the pre-historic era. As far back as 430 BC, history records a disease with fever, thirst, bleeding and skin lesions that killed as much as twothirds of the world population [1]. The world has survived several pandemics of plague, leprosy, smallpox, cholera and HIV/AIDS. We have seen health services all over the world struggling to cope with the onslaught of COVID 19. Services for vulnerable persons such as the mentally ill are extremely challenged amidst conflicting demands on the health system
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