Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for (a) new patients presenting with symptoms of mental ill health to access talking therapies and (b) referrals to psychiatrists to receive an appointment.

Average waiting times from referral date to first treatment appointment date are available in the monthly Improving Access to Psychological Therapies publications. These are based on referrals entering treatment in the month, rather than patients, since it is possible for a single person to have more than one referral at any particular time.

The latest monthly publication of November 2016 data is available from:

http://www.content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB23389