Ethnic inequalities in compulsory psychiatric hospital detentions are well-documented in the UK and internationally. It is unknown how UK coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown measures, which led to restrictions in public movement, gatherings, in-person health service delivery and changes to police powers, further impacted inequalities.

In this study, we assessed whether national lockdown measures impacted ethnic inequalities in voluntary and compulsory psychiatric hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daily counts of admissions and detentions to psychiatric hospitals were extracted from a large population-level sample of secondary mental health service users in South East London. Changes during two COVID-19 lockdown periods, over 2020–2021, were compared with pre-pandemic periods (2016–2019) with the use of a regression discontinuity in time design to assess ethnic inequalities in voluntary and compulsory mental health admissions.

Compared to the pre-pandemic reference (2016–2019), after adjusting for seasonal and weekly trends, overall admissions to mental health units dropped during the first COVID-19 lockdown (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.87 (95% CI: 0.75–1.00)), but compulsory detentions rose (IRR 1.25 (1.05–1.54)). This was mostly due to higher compulsory detentions in the Black Caribbean group (IRR 1.54 (1.08–2.19)). During the second COVID-19 lockdown, whereas total daily admissions remained similar to the pre-pandemic reference (IRR 1.03 (0.92–1.15)), total new daily detentions was elevated (IRR 1.28 (1.11–1.49)), specifically in Black Caribbean (IRR 1.53 (1.14–2.06)) and Black African (IRR 1.57 (1.06–2.34)) groups.

COVID-19 lockdown measures exacerbated pre-existing ethnic inequalities in compulsory psychiatric detention, particularly for those from Black Caribbean and Black African backgrounds. There is a need to address ethnic inequalities in compulsory psychiatric detentions and attend to exacerbations of pre-existing inequalities during health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. This cannot be achieved without addressing systemic racism within criminal justice and healthcare systems and tackling inequalities in wider social and economic determinants of mental health.

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and mental illness during pregnancy have long-lasting and potentially serious consequences, which may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To investigate how the UK COVID-19 lockdown policy influenced the identification of DVA and depressive symptoms during pregnancy in health services in South-East London in Spring 2020, using eLIXIR (Early-Life Data Cross-Linkage in Research) maternity and mental routine healthcare data.

We used a regression discontinuity approach, with a quasi-experimental study design, to analyse the effect of the transition into and out of the COVID-19 lockdown on the rates of positive depression screens, DVA recorded in maternity and secondary mental health services, and contact with secondary mental health services during pregnancy.

We analysed 26 447 pregnancies from 1 October 2018 to 29 August 2020. The rate of DVA recorded in maternity services was low throughout the period (<0.5%). Within secondary mental health services, rates of DVA dropped by 78% (adjusted odds ratio 0.219, P = 0.012) during lockdown, remaining low after lockdown. The rate of women screening positive for depression increased by 40% (adjusted odds ratio 1.40, P = 0.023), but returned to baseline after lockdown lifted.

Rates of DVA identification in secondary mental health services dropped during and after lockdown, whereas overall rates of DVA identified in maternity services were concerningly low. Healthcare services must adopt guidance to facilitate safe enquiry, particularly in remote consultations. Further research is vital to address the longer-term impact on women's mental health caused by the increase in depression during the lockdown.