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2010-03-21 11:29:42
By Maddy Savage
BBC News
Some 65% of doctors say they can "rarely" offer psychological therapy to
depression sufferers within two months of referral, a study suggests.
The Royal College of GPs survey of 590 UK doctors also found 15% said access to
psychological services was only "usually" possible in that timeframe.
The survey is part of a campaign by mental health charity Mind calling for
better access to therapies.
The government says it is working hard with the RCGP to achieve this.
Depression affects one in 10 people a year, with more than half of those
experiencing more than one episode.
Manifestos
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends talking
therapies as the best form of treatment for mild and moderate depression.
Mind's campaign is being backed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
It challenges all political parties to make a guarantee in their election
manifestos, to offer evidence-based therapies to all those who need them within
28 days of requesting referral.
In 2007, the government earmarked 173m to boost the number of cognitive
behavioural therapists available on the NHS.
The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme aims to treat
900,000 extra people in England by 2010/11, with half of them moving to
recovery and 25,000 fewer on sick pay and benefits.
RCGP chairman Professor Steve Field said: "There has been substantial
improvement in the last few years but there is a long way to go.
"It is essential that the current programme is completed within the next
Parliament with adequate funding for training and employing extra therapists.
"If we can treat people early we can keep people in work, keep them off
medication and help them get on with their lives."
Mind chief executive Paul Farmer said talking therapies could save lives, and
it was crucial that people who needed help received it as quickly as possible.
"Waiting months and months for urgent treatment would not be acceptable for
patients with other health problems, and it should not be acceptable for
patients with depression," he said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said more than 230,000 people had already
benefited from the IAPT and that almost three quarters of primary care trusts
now offered this service, up from a quarter two years ago.
But in a statement it added: "There is still work to do and we will work
closely with the Royal College of GPs and others to achieve this."
'Misery'
Opposition parties have also pledged to widen access to talking therapy
treatments.
Tory shadow health minister Anne Milton said: "In the same way that physical
conditions get worse when not treated, a mental health condition will also
deteriorate. This must be improved.
"We will make sure that GPs have better information about the effectiveness of
talking therapies."
A Lib Dem spokesman said: "We are totally committed to ensuring that people
with mental health problems are given guaranteed access to the treatment that
they need and we want to work with Mind and the Royal College of GPs to find
out what the spending implications would be of a 28-day guarantee."
The programme director for Wellbeing at the London School of Economics,
Professor Lord Layard, who is spearheading the campaign, has stressed the
economic as well as the humanitarian case for investing in treatment,
suggesting that successful therapy can help many people return to the
workplace.
"Mental illness is perhaps the greatest single cause of misery in our country,"
he said.
"The least we should offer is the same standard of care we would automatically
provide if they had a physical illness."