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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Millions with mental health needs not seeking NHS help, watchdog says

Doctor and patient
There are 1.2 million people waiting for help from community-based mental health services, the report says. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Millions of people in England with mental ill-health are not seeking NHS help, and many who get it face long delays and a “poor experience”, a report says.

Long waits for care will persist for years because soaring demand, exacerbated by Covid, will continue to outstrip the ability of severely understaffed mental health services to provide speedy treatment, the National Audit Office (NAO) found.

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