By January 2022, more than 2.3 million people had come forward for NHS talking therapies since the start of the pandemic. NHS England also noted that more than half of the population was concerned about their mental health in 2021.2
In response, NHS England launched a new campaign, using the Beatles song ‘Help’, to encourage those struggling with their mental health to seek support while announcing that around 90 per cent of patients start treatment within six weeks of making a referral. A 24/7 mental health helpline through NHS 111 is also in place to help people in crisis get urgent care, two years ahead of schedule.
For children, around 200 local mental health teams are now in place for pupils at over 3,000 schools. NHS services supported nearly 630,000 children with mental health issues between October 2020 and September 2021.
NICE is also finalising a major overhaul of its depression guidelines for adults. The original clinical guideline CG 90 was published in 2009. Since 2015 this has been under revision, with the draft new guideline published in November 2021. The consultation period on this has now closed with the finalised guideline expected in May 2022.3,4