New figures show thousands still waiting too long for talking therapies
The latest statistics on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme show that over 80,000 people are waiting longer than 28 days to access talking therapies in England.
The latest quarterly statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme show that over 80,000 people in England are waiting over 28 days to access talking therapies.
For the first time, these figures include data on waiting times among individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic communities, an important step if we are to monitor and address inequalities in access across different ethnic groups.
Amy Whitelock, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Mind, said:
"These new figures show that there are still more than 80,000 people in England alone waiting over 28 days to access talking therapies. The Government has committed to ‘parity of esteem’ between physical and mental health and yet people with mental health problems are still not receiving the timely treatment they need. We are calling on the Government to urgently establish access standards in IAPT so that people will be referred to these important services within 28 days.
We know from research that people from Black and Minority Ethnic groups are less likely to be referred to talking therapies and this data shows that people from mixed heritage, Bangladeshi and Chinese communities have the fewest referrals. Commissioners must ensure high quality talking therapies are made available to all people with mental health problems, regardless of their ethnic group or where they live."