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Older mental health patients not getting enough helpDate: 13/08/2007 10:21:56
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The NHS is failing to provide adequate care for elderly people suffering from mental health problems, a new report has concluded.
According to the figures released by the UK Inquiry into Mental Health and Well-Being in Later Life, more than 3.5 million older people in the UK currently suffer from some sort of mental illness.
One in four people over 65 and two in five of the over-85s suffer from depression or from symptoms of depression, the study also found.
Despite the extent of the problem, older patients are suffering as a result of under funding and a lack of support from healthcare providers.
Around two-thirds of elderly people never discuss their problems with depression with their GP, while of those that do talk about it, just half are diagnosed and treated.
Commenting on the inquiry's findings, Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: "The standards of wards for elderly people with mental illness can be shocking, mixing patients with illnesses like depression and conditions like dementia.
"We entirely agree that age should not be a barrier to treatment for conditions such as depression and anxiety, which can be as successful with older people as with those in younger age groups."
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