MORE people in Nottingham are being admitted to hospital due to depression than anywhere else in the East Midlands, according to new figures.
A total of 45.1 per 100,000 residents in the city were admitted to hospital for depression between 2009-10 and 2011-12.
The rate was the highest in the East Midlands, and higher than the regional average of 31.8 and the national average of 32.1. But Notts as a whole was below both averages, with 29.8 per 100,000 residents.
The new figures from the Community Mental Health Profiles 2013, released by Public Health England, also show that the city had the highest number of people being admitted to hospital for schizophrenia and other delusional disorders in the East Midlands – with 116 per 100,000 residents. This is more than double that of Notts (45) and nationally (57).
Beth Murphy, information manager for mental health charity Mind, said: "These new figures from the Department of Health suggest hospital admission rates for mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia are higher in Nottingham than elsewhere in the East Midlands, and higher than the national average for England.
"Although these statistics may suggest that the prevalence of mental health problems is higher in this area, it is important to be aware that there could be other explanations, such as more people asking for help, or more hospital beds available.
"In the last few years, the Mind Infoline has received an increasing number of calls from people all across England and Wales whose mental health had been affected by worries about money, unemployment and particularly about cuts to welfare support such as benefits; and these could well be as a result of the current economic climate. With the fall-out of the recession still with us, we'd urge anyone struggling with their mental health to seek support and medical advice."
Community Mental Health Profiles 2013 detail mental health information for local authorities across England.
The figures for Nottingham also show 178 per 100,000 residents were admitted to hospital for Alzheimer's and other related dementia – second to Derbyshire, but above the East Midlands' average of 129, and more than double the national average of 80.
Nottingham also had a suicide rate of 66 per 100,000 – the second lowest in the East Midlands, behind Rutland (33), and around two-thirds that of Derby (92) and a third of Leicester (173). The national average was 100, with the area of Notts outside the city having an average of 96 per 100,000 people.
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides mental health services in the city and county, said: "Anyone can suffer from poor mental health and one in four of us will be affected by a mental illness at some point in our lifetime."
