Mentally ill people need more help to stay in work, says chief medical officer

People with mental illness should have more help to stay in work, including prompt NHS treatment and support from employers, such as flexible working hours, England’s chief medical officer has said.

In her annual report Sally Davies said that the number of working days lost to stress, depression, and anxiety in the United Kingdom had risen by 24% since 2009.1 Altogether 70 million working days were lost to mental illness in the UK in 2013, with a cost to the economy of between £70bn (€87bn; $113bn) and £100bn.

Davies called for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to look at whether accelerating access to treatment for people who work improves their chances of avoiding sick leave.

People …