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Psychiatry: Waiting Lists

Volume 472: debated on Wednesday 27 February 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average length of time a patient waited to be referred for psychological therapies in (a) England and (b) Wirral, West constituency in the last 12 months. (187847)

The length of time a patient treated by Wirral primary care trust waits for psychological therapies varies with the severity of their condition. However, since December 2007, waiting times for mild to moderate mental health treatment are under 18 weeks, and waiting times for more complex therapies and cognitive behaviour therapy are, in the vast majority of cases, a maximum of 18 weeks.

Average waiting times for psychological therapies are not collected centrally. These waiting times will improve over the next few years as the Government’s substantial additional investment in improving access to psychological therapies, announced in October last year, begins to be rolled-out across England.