People with depression ‘stagnating’ in UK healthcare system

Research paints bleak picture in which huge numbers go undiagnosed and seriously ill people do not receive specialist care

People with depression are stagnating" in the UK healthcare system, according to research that suggests many wait years to be diagnosed and then often receive suboptimal treatment.

The research, led by scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, aimed to assess how real-world care for depression compared with best practice and painted a bleak picture that sees huge numbers go undiagnosed and those with very serious illness are not referred on for specialist care quickly enough.