Depression recovery varying wildly across the country

According to the NHS figures, around three in five patients fail to return to full health after completing a course of psychological therapy treatment.

While the counselling is successful for 42 per cent of people across Britain, different primary care trusts have recorded huge discrepancies in the numbers who recover after NHS care.

Of these, Blackpool PCT fared the worst with 5.6 per cent of patients overcoming depression or anxiety disorders.

The figures were only maringally better in Hull where 7.0 per cent of those who completed treatment recovered.

At the other end of the scale, Gloucestershire PCT recorded a 62.8 per cent success rate while at Sandwell PCT, in the West Midlands, the figure stood at 66.7 per cent, according to the statistics released by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

However, while 782 people went through counselling in Gloucestershire, only 21 underwent psychological therapy in Sandwell.

The recovery rates also differed from one region to another.

While 49.1 per cent of those treated in the South Central area got better, this figure was significantly lower in the North West where only 33.2 per cent of people reported the same results.

Low recovery rates were also identified in the North East (37.9 per cent) and Yorkshire and the Humber (38.1 per cent).

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said successfully treating a mental health issue is not always as straightforward as offering a block of counselling.

“It’s important to remember that everyone’s needs are very different,” he added.

“For people who don’t improve after their allocated course of treatment is finished, it’s essential that they can access alternative types of counselling or treatment, for the duration they need it in order to fully recover.”

The figures for April to June were compiled as part of an examination of the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, which was launched in 2008 and is being rolled out across England.

It aims to reduce the number of people unable to work because of depression-related conditions.

Care services minister Paul Burstow said: “The figures show that as access to talking therapies improves, so do recovery rates.

“Not every service has reached the goal of a 50 per cent success rate yet. But I am confident that as the programme continues to roll out, those services will catch up with the best performing services.”

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said the figures could reflect the pace of rollout of the programme.