Grenfell: 11,000 may have mental health problems after tragedy
More than 1,000 people have seen their GP over issues related to the fire and experts say thousands more may have problems.
Monday 30 October 2017 11:12, UK
The mental health response to the Grenfell tragedy is the biggest ever seen in Europe, according to the psychologist in charge, with more than 11,000 people potentially affected.
The local NHS trust has been turned into "the largest trauma service in the UK", said Dr John Green.
"I think this is the biggest programme there's ever been in Europe, certainly in terms of mental health.
"There's never been anything like it," said Dr Green, who is clinical director of the Grenfell Tower NHS Mental Health Response.
More than 1,300 people have so far been seen for either post-traumatic stress disorder screening or physical health concerns related to the fire.
Two hundred staff are door-knocking people who may be struggling and GPs in the area have logged more than 1,000 Grenfell-related appointments.
Health professionals estimate 11,000 people in the wider area could be struggling in some way, though not all are expected to seek treatment.
As the official health response goes on, Sky News spoke to one woman who has set up her own support group.
Rajaa says she took action as many people are distrustful of the authorities and are shunning their help
Her aunt, Faouzia El Wahabi, died in the fire and she remembers talking to her on the phone as the blaze engulfed the tower
Rajaa says her aunt was calm, saying she had been told to stay put and the Fire Service would come for her, her husband and their three children, Yasin, Nur Huda and Mehdi.
Instead, they all died on the 21st floor.
Rajaa, 35, lives opposite the tower with her six-year-old son. They watched as the fire took hold of the building in the early hours of 14 June.
"They died in a building that should not have got to that extent to burn in that way - and that's something we're going to have to live with forever and it's scary," she says.
"I'm not going to lie, it's very scary to see that. It is difficult for my son.
"We can't open the curtains from my bedroom window because it's literally opposite us.
"It's difficult for our family seeing my mum sometimes just break down crying. It's her brother, it's her sister-in-law, her nephews and her niece.
"At the same time, it's one of those feelings - from a religious perspective we know they've gone to a better place - but it also makes me angry because the system and where we live allowed it to get to that extent."
Rajaa, a school counsellor, has set up an independent support group called My Shepherd to help other bereaved families.
She took action after realising many were not accessing the help being offered by the NHS and local authorities.
Figures show one in five adults and more than one in three children are refusing the mental health support they need.
"I want to help - it's a way of healing for me," says Rajaa.
"And obviously being a counsellor, this has given me this opportunity to do that, and it sometimes can be very emotional because you're seeing all these people going through what you're going though.
"But at the same time I feel that if I can get through it, they can get through it.
"When they start talking, you can see that they are struggling and that they need someone to talk to.
"But it's that feeling of where to go, who to trust. And that is actually really scary because there are all these services that they've got, but how do they know they can trust (them)?"
My Shepherd is run by Rajaa and other trained therapists, many with their own personal experience of loss.
Sessions are held away from the tower but still within the community.
The group plans to continue for as long as they are needed and hope to reach survivors and those affected who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and bereavement.
"We're unique, we're not involved in the NHS or anything - we are independent therapists that are offering our services.
"And I think with what I've gone through they're able to trust me because I've been there.
"It comes down to fear: people are scared because they have been let down by the system and the system is now saying: 'I want to help you'. And that in itself is scary."
"We want to bridge the gap. This is a community still grieving and it will be for a very long time."