INVESTMENT worth £1m is set to increase access to ‘talking therapies’ in Dorset to support people with mental health problems who also have long term conditions.

Dorset HealthCare has also revealed a team of 13 staff will be taken on this summer for its new employment service dedicated to helping those with mental health issues find or retain work.

It comes as health services come under pressure to meet new targets for increasing access to talking therapies. Data released by NHS England shows 57 per cent of CCGs – including Dorset – have failed to meet the target for the proportion of people that should be accessing the service.

From October to December 2016, the target was 3.95 per cent of people suffering common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression but Dorset achieved 3.7 per cent.

The data released focused on therapies available through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.

However a spokesman for service provider Dorset HealthCare said it is too early for the analysis.

He said: “Figures for April and May indicate that we are on course to exceed this target for 2017/18.

“Historically, our record on meeting access targets in this service is very good, and we are currently expanding our services to do even better in the future. Dorset CCG, in partnership with Dorset HealthCare, recently successfully bid for a £1 million investment from NHS England to provide talking therapies for people with mental health problems who also have a long term condition, such as diabetes and chronic pain. We are using this funding to hire more specialist staff and increase our capacity to treat patients in a timely manner.

“We are also launching a new employment service in the summer, with a new team of 13 staff working specifically to support mental health patients to remain in work or find new employment. This will help to provide better support for people who use our services.”

Sophie Corlett, director of external relations for charity MIND said though the stigma around mental health is decreasing, underfunding in the sector means the services are still struggling to cope with demand.

She said: “Talking therapies play a vitally important role for many people who have mental health problems, enabling them to get their lives back on track and preventing their problems becoming worse.

““There has been recent national investment, which is welcome, but we need to see that investment making a difference locally.

“No matter where you live in the country, we want to see everyone access the help they need, when they need it.

“For too long, people accessing mental health services have not had the same right to timely treatment that we all expect if we have a physical health problem.”