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<p>The Department, through NHS England, remains committed to increasing older people’s
access to psychological therapies via the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
(IAPT) programme.</p><p>Referrals into IAPT services for people aged 65 and over show
a consistent rise over the last five years, from 5.5% of referrals in 2012/13 to 6.8%
in 2017/18. This equates to approximately 2,000 extra referrals of people aged 65
and over each year.</p><p>Since April 2018 all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
have been expected to expand IAPT by commissioning services that are integrated into
physical healthcare pathways. These services are designed to support people with combined
physical health long-term conditions (LTCs) and mental health problems. It is expected
that this expansion will further increase access for older people, who are more likely
than working age people to live with one or more LTCs.</p><p>We have introduced financial
incentives through the Mental Health Quality Premium in 2017/18 and 2018/19 to reward
CCGs for improvements in access to, and outcomes from, IAPT services for under-represented
groups, in particular older people.</p><p>The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January
2019, commits the National Health Service to improving the provision of mental health
support for older people with a range of needs and diagnoses, including common mental
health problems and severe mental illnesses.</p>
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