Andrew Harrop‚ Head of Public Policy for Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ said:

“We welcome the updated NICE guidance on depression and the range of treatments it recommends; however we know that in practice health professionals are not using them when diagnosing and treating older patients with symptoms of depression.

“Depression is the most common mental health problem in later life‚ affecting one in four older people‚ yet it is often overlooked by GPs and health professionals and wrongly seen as part of growing old.  For many older people it’s a serious illness that if left unidentified and untreated‚ can lead to a life of misery.

“Our national ‘Down‚ but not out’ campaign uncovered that eight out of ten older people¹ with clinical depression don’t get any treatment because of ageist attitudes and rules in the NHS.  Currently‚ most mental health services for depression exclude people aged 65 and older‚ despite the risk of depression increasing with age.

 “Ageist attitudes and practice in NHS services must be stamped out once and for all‚ which is why we welcome last week’s announcement from the Health Minister‚ Andy Burnham‚ MP about tackling age discrimination in health and social care.  In the mean time‚ health professionals need to be more aware about the impact depression has on older people’s quality of life and do more to improve early detection and diagnosis of the illness.  The neglect of older people’s mental health ruins lives and must no longer be ignored.”