Debts & Loans

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is sending 100,000 health professionals guidance to help patients with debt and mental health problems.

The Final Demand - Debt and Mental Health booklets will be sent to health and social care professionals in early 2009.  Users of mental health services have worked with the First Step Trust and the College to compile the booklet, which is funded by the Financial Services Authority.

Research shows many clinicians get asked by patients about their debt worries but doctors often don’t know how to help them. The booklet doesn’t call for health and social care staff to turn into financial advisors but suggests big differences they can make with some extra knowledge and small actions.



Office for National Statistics data from 2001 finds one in six adults in the UK are living with mental health problems and 25% of these will experience debt or arrears.

It also showed that the more debts people had, the more likely they were to have some form of mental disorder. This was regardless of the amount of income they had.

The most common arrears amongst the mentally ill were domestic bills, rent and local authority taxes. People with mental health problems were also more likely to have had one of their utilities disconnected than those without such problems – 3% of people without mental health problems, 11% of those with neurotic conditions and 14% of those with psychosis.



"Research and clinical experience tells us that the more debts people have, the more likely they are to have a mental health problem. Health and social care professionals are well placed to help their patients during these difficult times," said Professor Dinesh Bhugra, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The launch of the booklets coincides with a speech on the impact of the financial crisis on the mental health of the nation given by shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, at a Mental Health Network conference in York today.