This article is part of a series exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic affected, and continues to affect, a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in London, UK. The series so far has focused primarily on the systems, processes and practical challenges of managing acutely disturbed patients in the inpatient setting with the added complexity of COVID-19 infection. This article outlines the psychological impact on staff and patients on a PICU during this time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the UK's National Health Service under extreme pressure, and acute psychiatric services have had to rapidly adapt to a new way of working. This editorial describes the experience of a London psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) where all nine in-patients ultimately tested COVID-19 positive.

This series of brief reports highlights the experience of a London psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) that cared for patients with COVID-19 relatively early in the pandemic. The objective is to contribute to learning and consider the challenges for psychiatric intensive care services. This article will discuss COVID-19-related risk prevention and mitigation strategies in a psychiatric inpatient setting, followed by an overview of the legal and ethical challenges, relating to risk prevention, mitigation and restrictive practice, in psychiatric inpatient care during the time of the pandemic.

Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has put the UK's National Health Service under extreme pressure, and acute psychiatric services have had to rapidly adapt to a new way of working. This editorial describes the experience of a London psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) where all nine in-patients ultimately tested COVID-19 positive.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has suddenly changed the landscape for psychiatric intensive care services, demanding a rapid transformation in the way that mental health care is delivered. This is the first of a series of articles describing the challenges facing psychiatric intensive care services during the evolving pandemic. Each article will focus on one of several unique challenges encountered during the pandemic, offering a timely account to share learnings. This article sets the scene for how COVID-19 might change psychiatric intensive care services.

This series of brief reports highlights the experience of a London psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) that had multiple cases of COVID-19 relatively early in the pandemic. The objective is to contribute to learning and consider future challenges for psychiatric intensive care services. This article will outline how the PICU adapted to the rapidly changing situation with consideration of prescribing in COVID-19 and the unique challenges faced by PICU services.