Two in five people with depression or an anxiety disorder who complete NHS psychological therapy recover from their condition, says a report from the NHS Information Centre today.

However, the findings also show that patterns of access to NHS psychological therapies and also the recovery rate following completion of treatment vary from place to place for the six million people in England who suffer from such conditions.

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Key Performance Indicators April 2011 to June 2011 is the first report to examine the impact of the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which is being rolled out across England between 2008 and 2015.

The programme is designed to support the NHS to implement National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on treating people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders. It also aims to reduce the number of people unable to work because of the conditions.

In the first quarterly results, the report showed:

• 42 per cent of those who completed treatment under the programme during the period were no longer ‘at caseness' – i.e. no longer showing measurable symptoms of depression or anxiety disorder at their last therapy session.
• Recovery rates for those who completed treatment varied between Primary Care Trusts (PCTs); ranging from seven per cent in one PCT to 63 per cent in another. This may be associated with the roll out of the programme, as some sites started delivering services more recently than others.
• About two per cent of people estimated to have depression or an anxiety disorder in England entered treatment under the programme during the quarter. This proportion varied by PCT, from 0.2 per cent to five per cent, which again may be associated with the roll out of the programme.

The report also showed that, during the period covered:

• 210,540 people were referred for psychological therapies
• 123,975 entered treatment
• During the reporting quarter, 5,001 people who had completed treatment moved off sick pay and benefits.

Chief executive of the NHS Information Centre Tim Straughan said: “This is the first report to look at the effectiveness of the IAPT programme and will be of interest not only to the Department of Health and mental health providers but also to patients too.

“These figures may reflect the pace of roll out of the programme and we will continue to publish reports to show the impact of the programme as it beds in further.”

The report is at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/psychologicaltherapies1112

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