Screening for suicidal ideation in primary care among people who have signs of depression does not appear to induce feelings that life is not worth living.

The impact of some socio-demographic risk factors for suicide appears to be accentuated when they are less prevalent in the population from which cases are derived. When assessing an individual's risk of suicide, consideration should be given to the prevalence of risk factors in the area where the individual lives.

No abstract

SummaryNew psychological services are about to roll out across England. the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidelines have led to government investment in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. New IAPT services should cut waiting times for psychological treatment of depression and anxiety disorders from months to days. They are intended to be available for all adults on the basis of need rather than age. It is not currently illegal for patients to be discriminated against by the National Health Service (NHS) because of their age. the government intends to introduce new legislation against age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services by the NHS. Further investment and service development will be needed to counter existing age-related inequalities in mental health services