Improving Access to Psychological Therapies for older adults: auditing management of newly diagnosed mild and moderate depression in six general practices within the Birmingham and Solihull CCG.

Background: The first-line treatments for mild-moderate and moderate-severe depression according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines for the management of depression in adults are psychological therapies followed by or alongside pharmacological treatment. We conducted an audit of patient records (as recorded by general practitioners (GPs)) to compare practice to the guidelines.

Methods: Incident cases were retrospectively identified from electronic primary care records (SystmOne).