One in four people have suffered mental health deterioration during the pandemic 

A quarter of Irish people reported a deterioration in their mental health over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. File picture

A quarter of Irish people reported a deterioration in their mental health over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, while an organisation supporting older people has fielded more than 50,000 calls since its onset.

A survey by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland's (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences found that while one in four felt their mental health declined, a fifth of respondents felt their overall health was worse than when Covid-19 began.