Anxiety UKMillions of people in the UK experiencing some form of mild to moderate anxiety or depression may be missing out on talking therapies, mental health charity Anxiety UK has warned.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of people in the UK aged 16 and over had some form of anxiety or depression. However, despite the government’s investment in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, which aims to support 3.2 million patients access talking therapies for depression or anxiety disorders by March 2015, Anxiety UK fear millions more will be left to fund their own treatment or simply be left to rely on medication alone.

Anxiety UK’s CEO, Nicky Lidbetter, said: “The IAPT programme is delivering much-needed support and treatment for those fortunate enough to be able to access the service.

“However, there is a limit to the number of people with mild to moderate symptoms who will get access to this service and with over 10 million people in England alone experiencing some form of anxiety or depression there is a huge number of people missing out.

“This survey exposes the level of demand that exists and underlines the need for great equity of funding to be provided for mental health as there is for physical health.

“Unless and until that inequality is addressed millions could face years without the support they so desperately need.”