Growth in the prevalence of psychological conditions

There is an increase in the prevalence of mental illness, which often increases the scale of physical illness. This makes existing physical illness worse. It can also cause physical symptoms which cannot be medically explained. Patients admitted to acute wards have medically unexplained symptoms and the length of stay increases, while tests are run to diagnose patients.

Proposed workforce impact

• There is an increase in demand for psychological diagnosis in acute sector.
• There is demand for psychologists working with or in acute units.

Sources or references

• http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/195/1/61.full.pdf

• http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/special/cepsp26.pdf

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.