I recently requested a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) from our local health and wellbeing board, into the impact of flooding on the mental and physical health of affected residents.
Having worked as a GP and local county councillor, it has become obvious to me that there is a knowledge gap around this area. It started with serially flooded residents telling me they had ‘issues’. There is the challenge of living in temporary accommodation, resulting in poor eating habits – where do you store food? It’s easier to eat out and have takeaways, resulting in weight gain, obesity and poor diabetic control.
People feel anxious the whole time – expressed in excess smoking, heavy drinking, marital stress, estrangement, divorce and separation, anxiety and depression, feeling suicidal, poor medication compliance, worsening blood pressure, and increased GP and hospital appointments.
Going on holidays becomes a non-starter during winter, for fear of coming home to a flooded residence.
And the feeling of being trapped in a once-loved home can become unbearable when house sales fall through when potential buyers find out about the flooding issues and challenges with insurance.
Being flooded once is quite distressing. Imagine living on a flood plain and being repeatedly flooded, with no agreement between the various local and national authorities and bodies as to who will take responsibility.
People who are flooded are serially traumatised effectively, but the trauma is often unrecognised. Everything is presumed to be okay because the insurance company will replace everything and things will go ‘back to normal’.
We need to treat the victims of flooding like victims of other disasters, and recognise the consequences. We need to prioritise the most vulnerable – those with existing physical or mental illness – and introduce a traffic light system for those most susceptible to complications.
I hope requesting a JSNA will lead to the development of public health best practice for the future support of all those affected by flooding.