Written question asked by Lynne Jones (Labour) on Monday, 30 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 November 2006. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Waiting Lists/Times

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on waiting times for psychological treatments.

Answer: The national waiting targets apply to referrals for psychological therapy services that are delivered by psychiatric consultants. However, the majority of referrals for psychological therapies would be to mental health professionals other than consultants such as clinical psychologists or psychotherapists. Therefore, most of the psychological therapy provision provided under the national health service is not covered by the national waiting targets and the information on waiting times that are published periodically by the Department does not capture the volume of activity in this area accurately.In line with our manifesto commitment, the Department has embarked on a new programme to provide improved services for people with mild to moderate psychological needs, by extending the availability of psychological therapies of proven effectiveness and connecting interventions currently or potentially available in the workplace, in primary care and other community resources. One of the aims of this programme is to tackle long waiting times.

Secondary information