Nearly half of people in care homes are depressed

Almost half of all older people in care homes are depressed and think condition is a 'normal part of ageing'. Four in 10 people in nursing homes are depressed while one in five older people who live in their own homes suffer from the condition, with rates among older women even higher.

The report, commissioned by NHS (National Health Service) England and supported by the Government, found that "older people's needs are neglected" with most of them not even seeking treatment.

The report concludes that people with mental health conditions suffer from poor physical health and that those with severe mental illnesses die on average 15-20 years earlier than the rest of the population.

It makes a number of recommendations and promises to help a million extra people and invest more than a billion pounds per year to improve the mental health of the nation by 2020/21. Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England said the report "is not Nirvana, but it is definitely a kick-start to what we need to see, the NHS is going to back this and get on with it".

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