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Mental Health Services: Tyne and Wear

Asked by Mary GlindonLabourDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 10 September 2025UIN 70443

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of people waited less than 6 weeks for their first treatment for talking therapies in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) North Tyneside in May 2025; and if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of first treatments were (i) a session with a therapist and (ii) guided self-help.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock

The following table shows the number of referrals to NHS Talking Therapies with their first treatment in May 2025, and the number and percentage of referrals with first treatment within six weeks of the referral being received, for Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside:

Local authority

All referrals with first treatment in May 2025

Referrals with first treatment within six weeks of referral being received

Number of referrals

Number of referrals

Percentage of total

Newcastle upon Tyne

555

515

93%

North Tyneside

320

305

95%

Source: NHS Talking Therapies dataset, NHS England.

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of these referrals by the specific therapy provided, in total and as a percentage of total referrals:

All referrals with first treatment in May 2025

Referrals with first treatment with therapist

Referrals with first treatment of guided self help

Local authority

Number of referrals

Number of referrals

Percentage of total

Number of referrals

Percentage of total

Newcastle upon Tyne

555

545

98%

10

2%

North Tyneside

320

130

40%

190

60%

Source: NHS Talking Therapies dataset, NHS England

Notes:

  1. a referral has had a first treatment in NHS Talking Therapies when the patient has attended a first session with an appointment type of treatment, assessment and treatment, or review and treatment;
  2. first treatment 'with a therapist' is defined as attended care contacts that are not recorded as one of the guided or non-guided self help therapies; and
  3. first treatments of guided self help are those with a therapy coded as ‘Guided self-help using book’ or ‘Guided self-help using computer’. Guided self-help sessions also include time with therapists.

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