Georgina Ferry interviews Paul Harrison, Professor of Psychiatry, 11 November 2021.
Topics discussed include (00:00:20) medical training, research interests; (00:01:10) techniques used to explore the question of the biological basis of serious mental illness; (00:02:10) PH's initial awareness of COVID-19; (00:02:51) practicalities of working during early COVID-19 restrictions; (00:03:44) repositioning of clinical work to focus on working with patients who had had COVID-19 and dealing with mental health sequelae; (00:06:35) the introduction of a 24/7 phone helpline and remote assessments for patients; (00:07:42) the problems patients presented with, particularly regarding the implications of lockdown and the pandemic; (00:08:43) research questions relating to the mental health of COVID-19 using real world data through an electronic health records network; (00:10:53) TriNetX and the collection of health data in the US; (00:12:50) work of trainee Max Taquet in analysing data; (00:13:20) first published papers relating to COVID-19 studies based upon database analysis; (00:16:03) study relating to connection between previous mental health diagnoses and COVID risk; (00:18:24) development of mental health illnesses after COVID-19 infections; (00:19:23) research into long COVID; (00:22:40) research into eating disorders as a result of the pandemic; (00:26:30) concerns relating to blood clots in relation to vaccines and utilising the TriNetX database to research risks of blood clots from both COVID-19 infection and vaccination; (00:29:38) funding of research; (00:31:01) changes to PH's personal life as a result of the pandemic, including working from home and conducting clinical work remotely; (00:32:02) the impact on students of Psychiatry and their involvement as volunteers; (00:33:29) medical student support and well-being and colleague well-being; (00:36:00) involvement in institutional preparation; (00:37:50) PH's personal well-being in relation to COVID research; (00:39:32) Government and authorities' handling of the pandemic; (00:41:25) involvement in follow-up COVID studies including PHOSP-COVID and COVID-CNS in the U.K.; (00:44:12) a study under review relating to the differences between catching COVID-19 when vaccinated and unvaccinated; (00:45:03) U.K. health database OpenSAFELY; (00:46:04) relationship between mental and physical health and the separation of physical and mental healthcare; (00:49:40) PH's participation on a voluntary basis in vaccine clinics.
