15.01.14
HSCIC publishes first ‘annual snapshot’ of IAPT
Only two-thirds of people who started treatment for anxiety or depression last year attended their first appointment within the target date of 28 days of referral, new statistics show.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has published the first annual report for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.
Out of 762,000 people referred for anxiety or depression in England in 2012/13, almost two-thirds were female and three-quarters were aged between 20 and 49.
IAPT services received 884,000 referrals in total, of which 434,000 went on to start treatment. The figures also show that 269,000 ended referrals in the same year due to people either declining or dropping out of treatment.
But 54,430 referrals were able to achieve recovery and 82,910 referrals showed reliable improvement.
HSCIC chair Kingsley Manning said: “Today’s report has been much anticipated given it provides the first annual snapshot of access to psychological therapies in England for people with anxiety and depression.
“The new dataset includes more than three quarters of a million people who were reported as being referred to these services in 2012-13. It is vital such information is not only collected and published but that it is read and used to help develop services.”
Emily Wooster, policy manager at The Mental Health Foundation said: “We welcome the first report of statistics for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which gives us an indication, amongst other things, of who is accessing IAPT services, as well as waiting times and recovery rates. These statistics indicate that referral to IAPT services is still currently focussed on those of working age and more needs to be done to improve access rates for older people and children and young people – as almost 3 in 4 people being referred were aged between 20 and 49.
"The IAPT programme has made real progress in treating and supporting those with depression and anxiety since its inception– we hope that next year’s report will show that progress has been made in referrals and treatment for these groups.”
An investigation by Pulse magazine last year found that funding for the IAPT programme varies from £1.76 to £14.55 per head of population across CCG areas.
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