The Mental Health Report

Which areas of the UK have the highest rates of mental health issues, and where are the most antidepressants being prescribed?

New research has revealed that around 65% of Brits have experienced a mental health problem. With the ongoing effects of the cost of living crisis causing money worries for many, we want to explore the prevalence of mental health issues across the UK.

The COVID-19 pandemic also had a major impact on everyone’s mental health, and suspended social interactions have led people to experience anxiety and stress. In turn, this has put a strain on health services, with waiting times for NHS prescriptions also being affected.

In this report, we will analyse data split by Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area to reveal which parts of the country have the highest rates of mental illness. This analysis will focus on depression and anxiety conditions, as well as looking at the average wait time for treatment, and the number of referrals in each area.

We will also explore Google search data to reveal the locations where people are carrying out the highest number of mental health-related searches.

For those experiencing depression, anxiety or other health risks, it may feel more difficult to collect medical prescriptions in person. In this case, it may be easier to collect medication from an online pharmacy , as the NHS has contracted with various pharmacies across the UK to provide remote access to medications.

The Areas with the Highest Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders

NHS City & Hackney

Prevalence of common mental disorders:

24.04%

The NHS City and Hackney clinical commissioning group recorded the highest prevalence of common mental health disorders between 2019 and 2020, with 24.04% of the population experiencing mental health problems.

NHS Newham

Prevalence of common mental disorders:

23.88%

Another NHS clinical commissioning group within London recorded the second-highest prevalence of common mental health disorders. Between 2019 and 2020, the NHS Newham CCG recorded 23.88% of the population as having a common mental health disorder.

NHS Bradford City

Prevalence of common mental disorders:

23.67%

The NHS Bradford City clinical commissioning group recorded the third-highest prevalence of common mental health disorders. During 2019 and 2020, 23.67% of the population were reported to suffer from a mental health disorder.

The below table shows the CCG areas of the UK with the highest prevalence of common mental disorders, shown as a percentage of the population aged 16 and above.

	Area name	Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (%)

The Areas where Depression and Anxiety are most Prevalent

NHS Knowsley

Depression and anxiety prevalence:

21.27%

The NHS Knowsley clinical commissioning group recorded the highest prevalence of depression and anxiety-related symptoms through their patient surveys, with 21.27% of the population reporting symptoms.

NHS Liverpool

Depression and anxiety prevalence:

19.30%

The second-highest prevalence of depression/anxiety-related symptoms through patient surveys was recorded by the NHS Liverpool CCG, with 19.30% of patients reporting symptoms.

NHS Halton

Depression and anxiety prevalence:

19.20%

Halton finished in third place, with 19.20% of the population reporting depression and anxiety prevalence by the NHS Halton CCG.

The below table ranks the areas of the UK with the highest prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders, based on GP patient surveys. The data, split by CCG area, shows the percentage of the population over the age of 18 who have experienced depression and anxiety-related symptoms through patient surveys, recorded during 2019 and 2020.

	Area name	Depression & Anxiety Prevalence (%)

The Areas with the Most IAPT Referrals by Population

The below table looks at the quarterly rates for people entering IAPT per 100,000 of the population during 2019 and 2020. IAPT referrals (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) help people get quick and easy access to the best type of therapy for their individual needs.

NHS Manchester CCG

Number of IAPT referrals per 100,000:

2,436

The NHS Manchester clinical commissioning group had the highest number of IAPT referrals for therapies, with a total of 2,436 referrals per 100,000 during 2019 and 2020.

NHS Salford CCG

Number of IAPT referrals per 100,000:

2,259

The NHS Salford CCG had the second-highest number of referrals for psychological therapies, with a total of 2,259 referrals per 100,000 recorded.

NHS Bolton CCG

Number of IAPT referrals per 100,000:

2,237

The NHS Bolton CCG recorded the third-highest number of IAPT referrals, with 2,237 per 100,000 people during 2019 and 2020.

	Area name	Value

The Areas with the Most Antidepressants Prescribed by GP Practices

Referring to the English Prescribing Dataset, we looked into five of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in the UK and the quantities in which they were prescribed in November 2022.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most widely prescribed type of antidepressant. The population for each city and town was normalised against the total number of prescriptions to accurately measure the results.

Manchester

Total Prescribed Antidepressants per 100,000:

33,027

Manchester had the highest number of prescriptions for antidepressants, with 33,027 prescriptions per 100,000 people. There were almost 75,000 prescriptions for sertraline and 53,491 prescriptions for citalopram hydrobromide.

Newcastle upon Tyne

Total Prescribed Antidepressants per 100,000:

31,358

Newcastle had the second-highest number of total prescribed antidepressants during November 2022, with a total of 31,358 prescriptions per 100,000 people.

There were over 25,000 prescriptions for Citalopram hydrobromide, and almost 34,000 prescriptions for Sertraline. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differences are mostly confined to side effects.

Nottingham

Total Prescribed Antidepressants per 100,000:

29,007

The city of Nottingham had the third-highest number of antidepressants prescribed during November 2022, with 29,007 prescriptions (per 100,000 people).

There were over 50,000 prescriptions for Sertraline, and almost 41,000 prescriptions for citalopram hydrobromide, which works by increasing the amount of serotonin, a natural substance in the brain that helps maintain mental balance.

	City/town	Sertraline	Citalopram hydrobromide	Citalopram hydrochloride	Dapoxetine hydrochloride	Fluvoxamine maleate	Total Antidepressants per 100,000 People

Poole,

Dorset

Number of Searches per 100,000 people:

3,111

The coastal town of Poole in Dorset, in southwest England, recorded 3,111 Google searches for ‘therapists near me’, per 100,000 of the population. The rate of searches in Poole is much higher than in any other part of the country, which could indicate that there is a considerable need for additional mental health services in the town.

Plymouth,

Devon

Number of Searches per 100,000 people:

2,237

The port city of Plymouth in Devon, had the second highest number of mental health-related searches, with 2,237 searches per 100,000. As another coastal city in southwest England, it is worth considering that the prevalence of mental health problems could be disproportionately high in the region.

Salford,

Greater Manchester

Number of Searches per 100,000 people:

1,347

Salford, in Greater Manchester, had the third-highest number of mental health-related searches, with 1,347 searches per 100,000 people. With the highest rate of searches in northern England, it is worth noting that demand for therapists is particularly high in this area.

We delved into search data to reveal the areas of the UK searching the most for therapists between January 2022 and December 2022. By looking at the number of searches per 100,000 of the population, we were able to reveal comparative rates of interest in therapy in different parts of the country.

	City/town	County	Searches (Jan - Dec 2022)	Population	Searches per 100,000

Methodology

The Areas with the Highest Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders We took data from the Office for National Statistics to find the areas with the highest estimated prevalence of common mental disorders, by % of population aged 16 & over. The data was collected by clincal commissioning groups (CCGs) between 2019 and 2020.

The Areas with the Highest Depression and Anxiety Prevalence We took data from the ONS to find the areas with the highest depression and anxiety prevalence, based on GP Patient Surveys and the % of respondents aged 18 and over. The data was collected by CCGS between 2019 and 2020.

The Areas with the Most IAPT Referrals by Population We took data from the ONS to find the areas with the most people entering IAPT treatment based on quarterly rates per 100,000 population between 2019 and 2020.

The Areas with the Most Antidepressants Prescribed by GP Practices We took data from the NHS English Prescribing Dataset to find the areas with the most commonly prescribed antidepressants by GP practice. This data should be considered as estimates due to data availability.

The most up to date data was from November 2022 and was normalised against the city or town’s population figures from World Population Review.

The Areas Searching Mental Health-Related Questions the Most We used Google Keyword Planner to find the total number of searches in each city or town with the search term ‘therapists near me’. The search volume was taken between January 2022 - December 2022.

We then took the city or town’s population size using World Population Review and divided the number of searches by population, to comparatively measure the number of searches by the town’s population size.