More mental health staff are needed to cope with over 140,000 patients in the NHS in Lincolnshire, according to a private psychiatrist.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), a mental health and social care clinic, has registered 145,307 new patients in the last 10 years, an FoI request has revealed.
But hospital admissions for mental health in young people and children are almost 25% lower in Lincolnshire than the national average.
The Well Centre, a CQC approved private psychiatry clinic in Lincoln which offers mental health care, often deals with referrals from the NHS.
However the cost of appointments, which are £300 per hour, are not covered by the NHS.
Dr Tarik Al-Kubaisy, senior medical consultant psychiatrist at The Well Centre, said: “The later we keep mental health issues from being resolved or supported and helped, the more chronic they become, and more time will be required to help them.
“We are seeing more anxiety-related symptoms and more depressive symptoms. There are also increasing numbers of drug misuse and substance misuse.”
The average waiting list for NHS mental health services locally currently stands at four months for a consultant-led appointment.