Mental illnesses do not just result only in lowering the quality of life and debilitating the people directly affected, but they are connected to huge economic and healthcare costs. It has been estimated that in 2022 the burden of mental illness for England reached 300 billion pounds, almost double the NHS budget. The greatest financial impact was deemed to be lost in workforce and tax revenues due to economic inactivity.
were very prevalent in the UK as of 2022, with shares of 51 and 19 percent, respectively. Specifically, between 2022 and 2023, about 875,000 workers were
in Great Britain, the second-highest figure since 2008. Moreover, the
was not marginal and reached over 41,000 in England and Wales in 2021.
Mental healthcare
Funding devoted to the mental health system increased in the last years in the UK, with the number of
psychiatrists employed in the United Kingdom also rising, going from approximately 8.8 thousand in 2002 to almost 13.2 thousand in 2022. Nevertheless, the NHS mental healthcare system is continuously under extreme pressure due to an even higher increase in the number of people who need to access those services. In 2023, when asking
patients to rate their experience of the NHS mental health services in England, nine percent of respondents rated their experience as very poor. In the UK, people who may cause harm to themselves or others can be detained and treated against their will. The Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales and the Mental Health Order 1986 in Northern Ireland govern how people with mental health conditions receive care and treatment and safeguard their rights. In England, there were approximately 35,000
detentions under the Mental Health Act on admission to hospitals between 2022 and 2023.
Depression, self-harm, and suicide
According to the World Health Organization, major depressive disorder (MDD) is the largest contributor to global disability and a major contributor to suicide.
Consumption of antidepressants has been increasing in the UK, going from 70.7 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants in 2011 to 138.2 in 2021, with sertraline hydrochloride being the most prescribed. Typically, women and young people are mostly prone to experiencing depression. As of 2021, 41 percent of
young people in the UK reported experiencing depression or feeling down. Nevertheless, dying from suicide is most common among men. The
number of deaths by suicide in England and Wales reached the second-highest figure since 2000, in 2022, totaling 5,642 cases, of which almost 4,200 were males.
This text provides general information. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
