Huge rise in cases of depression in UK

The number of people who are suffering from depression in the UK has risen by half a million in just three years, new figures show Wednesday. Between 2008 and 2011, there was an increase of 494,087 cases of depression in England - bringing the total to 4.7 million, research conducted by data experts "Ssentif" revealed. All areas of the country have seen a marked increase in the number of cases recorded by doctors. In Yorkshire and Humber, northern England, there has been a surge in the number of patients who suffer from the illness - an increase of 65,000 in three years. In the North East of England, 18,000 new cases were observed. Judy Aldred, managing director of Scentif, said "Spending by health authorities on mental health services has only increased by an average of 10 percent in the last three years while nationally the prevalence of mental illness has increased by 14 percent - and we have to remember that the real numbers are likely to be much higher as many people do not seek GP support for their conditions. "These are significant increases and analysing this information in terms of service provision, as well as prevalence, only serves to underline the importance of the reliance that the country has on voluntary sector organisations to help people with mental health conditions."