The Government's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme is not only reducing rates of depression and anxiety but also driving down hospital admissions for physical illness, new evidence suggests.

The IAPT programme aims to improve access to evidence based talking therapies such as CBT in the NHS through an expansion of the psychological therapy workforce and services.

An early analysis has found that the IAPT programme is reducing hospital admissions, length of stay, outpatients activity and attendance at casualty.

A further analysis of a project in Liverpool has demonstrated a 40% reduction in admissions for Angina in patients who received group CBT, according to Dr Alan Cohen, an adviser to the Department of Health on IAPT.

Dr Cohen said two trusts in London had been able to make major savings by offering CBT to people with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), avoiding costs of up to £23,000 a day following hospital admission.

Dr Cohen commented that the 'extraordinary' findings so far suggested CBT could have a major impact in helping to reduce activity and costs.

Article summarised from Pulse Today on 5th May 2010.  To read more about this article please click here 

A recent study has found that CBT can help people recover more quickly from physical pain conditions, helping to reduce sickness absences in the workplace.

Patients with chronic back pain who received cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) were almost twice as likely to recover as those who were given standard medical advice to keep active and use painkillers. In the study, cognitive behavioural therapy helped people change their thinking about their back pain and how they managed it.

Chronic lower back pain is one of the three most disabling conditions in the developed world, the British researchers report. It is the third most common reason for consulting a doctor, after headaches and tiredness, but GPs often cannot find a specific cause. An estimated £1.6bn is spent on treating back pain in Britain each year and billions more are lost in days off work.

Will new fit notes improve absence rates and help employees return to work after illness more quickly?