NHS failing to act on talking therapies clinical guidance, says new report
31 October 2006
Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink, The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Young Minds
The NHS is failing millions of people by ignoring clinical guidelines on psychological therapies, a group of charities warn in a report published today.
We Need to Talk argues that evidence-based talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy are as important for the nation’s health as any cancer drug or surgical procedure. Evidence shows that they can help millions of people in the UK who experience common and severe mental health problems.
Yet for three years the NHS has failed to act on recommendations from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to offer psychological therapies to people with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, due to a lack of investment.
Waiting times of six to 18 months force many people to suffer unnecessarily or give up waiting on the NHS and go private - if they can afford it. Many GPs admit giving prescribing antidepressant medications because they can’t access talking therapies for their patients. Even acute psychiatric wards frequently do not offer their patients psychological therapies.
The impact of that failure is massive - mental ill health costs over £77 billion in England alone and causes suffering to people of all ages. At least one million adults are out of work with mental health problems and countless children miss out on schooling and fail to achieve their full potential because their mental distress is not treated properly. And many people with long-term physical illnesses develop mental health problems, which go untreated.
We Need to Talk calls on the Government to provide psychological therapy through the NHS in line with NICE guidance. It also says that the NHS should introduce waiting time measures for access to mental health treatments.
Barry Davies, 44, from Cheshire, who has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder said: "I found out about CBT about ten years ago. It was really useful and helped me in so many ways. It's like a learnt behaviour and you don't forget the techniques - a bit like riding a bike. You might wobble a bit if you haven't done it for a while but you will always be able to do it. Years ago I had automatic negative thoughts but nowadays its automatic positive thoughts. CBT has more or less reversed the equation."
Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Andrew McCulloch, said: "There is strong evidence that many talking therapies can effectively treat a range of mental health problems. We must not deny people who need therapy from having access to it, and medication should not be relied upon just because there is no alternative."
Chief Executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, said: "The NHS would never be allowed to fail to provide a drug or operation that was mandated in NICE guidance, yet that is exactly what is happening with talking therapies. This is a fundamental inequality that should not be allowed to continue."
Director of Public Affairs at Rethink, Paul Corry, said: "People with severe mental health problems can benefit hugely from talking therapies. Offering proven psychological therapies is essential to make patient choice a reality in the NHS."
Chief Executive of The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Angela Greatley, said: "Poor access to psychological therapies can prevent people in work from keeping their jobs. Just eight sessions of CBT can make all the difference for some people with depression. The cost of not offering this support far outweighs the investment needed to make all the difference."
Chief Executive of Young Minds, Barbara Herts, said: "Children and young people suffer high rates of mental distress. This can disrupt their family lives and damage their education. We must intervene early to get children and young people the right help when they need it."
You can download this press release here (Word document - 38 KB)
We Need To Talk is a collaboration between five mental health organisations: Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink, The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Young Minds and published by the Mental Health Foundation.
The We Need to Talk campaign is kindly supported by the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.