Embargo: Thursday 28 November 2013 00.01
People with mental health problems still waiting over a year for
talking treatments
More than one in ten (12%) people with mental health problems are stuck on waiting lists
for over a year before receiving talking treatments and over half (54%) wait over three
months, reveals a new report launched by the We Need to Talk coalition of which the
mental health charity Mind is part of (1).
The survey (2) of over 1,600 people who have tried to access talking therapies such as
counselling and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy on the NHS in England over the last two years
also shows how some people are paying for private therapy to get the help they desperately
need. One in ten (11%) said that they had faced costs for private treatment because the
therapy they needed was not available on the NHS.
The choice of treatment on offer was also found to be limited even though CBT, the most
commonly prescribed talking treatment, doesn’t work for everyone. The coalition found that
three in five people (58%) weren’t offered a choice in the type of therapy they received.
Since 2007, the Government’s increased investment in the Improving Access to
Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme has helped millions of people to access
psychological therapies on the NHS who otherwise wouldn’t have had this support. However,
delays in accessing support and a lack of choice is having a devastating effect on people’s
lives and recovery.
The ‘We Need To Talk’ coalition is calling for the NHS in England to offer a full range of
evidence-based psychological therapies to all who need them within 28 days of requesting a
referral.
The coalition is raising these concerns as the IAPT team has now moved to NHS England,
and is operating on reduced capacity and budget.
This also means that the issues of many marginalized groups may not be addressed. People
from Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, those with long-term mental health
problems such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, older people and children and young
people face specific challenges of their own. The coalition held focus groups with people
from BME ethnic heritage and over half of those people said that language barriers was a
specific issue that they faced.
We need to talk wants the Government and NHS England to invest more in psychological
therapies to meet demand and urgently introduce maximum waiting time standards to
ensure timely access to treatment. Locally, clinical commissioning groups must ensure they
commission a range of psychological therapies to meet the needs of diverse local
communities.
Mind’s Chief Executive Paul Farmer said:
“Since our last ‘We need to talk report’, we’ve seen money poured into the IAPT programme
with some encouraging improvements in waiting times. However, it is far from acceptable
that in some parts of the country people are still waiting over a year to access treatment.
This must urgently be addressed if the Government’s commitment to parity between
physical and mental health care is to be realised.
“The Government is committed to improving access to talking treatments but our report
shows there is still a long way to go. That’s why we’re urging the Government and NHS
England to take heed of this new report and make sure that people with mental health
problems are getting the right treatment when they need it.”
Dr David Murphy, Chair of the Professional Practice Board at the British Psychological Society
said:
"This new report welcomes the positive steps that have been taken by the coalition
Government in increasing access to psychological therapies. This has undoubtedly benefitted
thousands of people who might otherwise have not received help. However, considerable
progress is still required as access to psychological therapies is still very limited, especially
for particular groups such as those from ethnic minorities, older people, those with physical
disabilities, and also people with severe mental health problems.
“Those people who do access services are also waiting too long before they receive
psychological therapies. Moreover, even after waiting many weeks or months, our own
research has shown that often therapy is cut well short of the amount recommended in
NICE guidelines because of arbitrary local limits. This is of great concern and illustrates how
far we still need to go before treatment of mental health problems and physical health
problems have equal priority. It would be front page news if a healthcare organization
started limiting prescriptions of antibiotics to half the recommended dose in order
to manage costs but this is equivalent to what seems to be happening in many psychological
therapies services."
The cost of mental health problems is high. Depression alone costs £7.5 billion, of which
only £1.7 billion is to NHS services, with the rest going on the cost of lost employment.
Previous research has shown that extending NICE-recommended treatments such as talking
therapies to all those with depression could deliver £1 billion in economic benefits each year.
Mind in Cambridgeshire’s Chief Executive Sarah Hughes said:
“We are fortunate in Cambridgeshire in that our IAPT waiting times do not reach the
unacceptable delays described here however we also know access needs to be improved as
the scale of need is vast. Our ‘Changing Lives Services’ is an IAPT programme which offers
short term help in the form of CBT to people going through difficult times. People can be
referred to this service by their doctor. The service is available to people who live in
Fenland and Huntingdonshire. Our counselling service, which is available to people aged
17-65, living in Huntingdonshire, Cambridge and surrounding areas, provides one to one
support for up to 12 sessions for people who are experiencing emotional distress. Although
we do have waiting lists, we can usually see people within 6-8 weeks. People can self refer
by calling 07561 182508. Mind in Cambridgeshire want to help, calling us could be the first
step towards recovery”
To read the We Need To Talk report visit www.mind.org.uk/weneedtotalk
The ‘We Need To Talk’ coalition is presenting its findings today (28 November) at the New
Savoy Partnership Psychological Therapies 2013 conference in London. The second report of
the National Audit of Psychological Therapies (NAPT), which has been carried out by the
Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement, will also be launched at the
conference.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
(1) The coalition is led by Mind and made up of: Royal College of General
Practitioners, Royal College of Psychiatrists, British Association of Counsellors
and Psychotherapists; Young Minds; Centre for Mental Health; Rethink Mental
Illness; British Psychological Society; British Psychoanalytic Council; United
Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy; British Association for Behavioural and
Cognitive Psychotherapies; and Mental Health Foundation.
(2) The research was conducted by Mind on behalf of the WNTT coalition. Mind
carried out a survey of people who have used psychological therapies on the
NHS in the last two years, which received 1,639 responses. Two focus groups
were also held looking into the needs of BME communities, and WNTT also
surveyed local Minds, many of whom provide psychological therapies, and
received 30 responses. Research for the report was also carried out by the
UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Psychoanalytic Council and the
British Psychological Society.
For more information or interviews please contact:

Alice White on T: 0208 215 2227 E: a.white@mind.org.uk ISDN line available: 0208
221 0817
Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive at Mind in Cambridgeshire on T: 07826 523900 E:
sarah.hughes@mindincambs.org.uk

Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. We provide advice
and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We
campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
www.mind.org.uk
Please note that Mind is not an acronym and should be set in title case.
Mind’s Infoline is on 0300 123 3393 and the Legal Line is on 0300 466 6463. The
helplines are open Monday – Friday 9am – 6pm.


For more information about the National Audit of Psychological Therapies report, please
contact Deborah Hart in the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ press office: 0203 701 2538 or
dhart@rcpsych.ac.uk
The audit was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as
part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) and carried
out by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement. It aims to
evaluate and improve the quality of treatment and care received by people with anxiety and
depression.