Director of Public Health Annual Report 2023: Mental health matters
4. The Buckinghamshire Picture
Higher than average levels of good mental health
People in Buckinghamshire generally enjoy higher levels of good mental health and wellbeing compared with the England average.
The four graphs below illustrate this, comparing Buckinghamshire scores for four key measures of wellbeing over the last ten years with the averages for the South East region and for England as a whole. Buckinghamshire residents report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with life, as well as a greater sense that the things they do in life are worthwhile, than the population of England. Anxiety levels in Buckinghamshire are also lower compared to the England average.
In all areas there was a drop in wellbeing measures and an increase in anxiety in 2020/21 which can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Figure 1. Measure of personal well-being (Happiness) in Buckinghamshire, compared to the South East region and England average, 2011/12 to 2021/22
| Year | Buckinghamshire | England | South East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011/12 | 7.43 | 7.29 | 7.36 |
| 2012/13 | 7.4 | 7.29 | 7.35 |
| 2013/14 | 7.42 | 7.38 | 7.46 |
| 2014/15 | 7.49 | 7.46 | 7.54 |
| 2015/16 | 7.66 | 7.47 | 7.54 |
| 2016/17 | 7.64 | 7.51 | 7.58 |
| 2017/18 | 7.7 | 7.52 | 7.57 |
| 2018/19 | 7.68 | 7.56 | 7.64 |
| 2019/20 | 7.58 | 7.47 | 7.53 |
| 2020/21 | 7.33 | 7.31 | 7.35 |
| 2021/22 | 7.51 | 7.45 | 7.48 |
Source: Annual Population Survey (APS): Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figure 2. Measure of personal well-being (Life Satisfaction) in Buckinghamshire, compared to the South East region and England average, 2011/12 to 2021/22
| Year | Buckinghamshire | England | South East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011/12 | 7.49 | 7.41 | 7.51 |
| 2012/13 | 7.56 | 7.44 | 7.54 |
| 2013/14 | 7.54 | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| 2014/15 | 7.78 | 7.6 | 7.73 |
| 2015/16 | 7.86 | 7.64 | 7.74 |
| 2016/17 | 7.87 | 7.67 | 7.76 |
| 2017/18 | 7.78 | 7.68 | 7.76 |
| 2018/19 | 7.89 | 7.71 | 7.79 |
| 2019/20 | 7.75 | 7.65 | 7.7 |
| 2020/21 | 7.39 | 7.38 | 7.4 |
| 2021/22 | 7.79 | 7.55 | 7.6 |
Source: Annual Population Survey (APS): Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figure 3. Measure of personal well-being (Worthwhile) in Buckinghamshire, compared to the South East region and England average, 2011/12 to 2021/22
| Year | Buckinghamshire | England | South East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011/12 | 7.76 | 7.66 | 7.76 |
| 2012/13 | 7.85 | 7.69 | 7.77 |
| 2013/14 | 7.75 | 7.74 | 7.81 |
| 2014/15 | 8.0 | 7.82 | 7.91 |
| 2015/16 | 7.95 | 7.83 | 7.88 |
| 2016/17 | 7.99 | 7.86 | 7.91 |
| 2017/18 | 7.93 | 7.88 | 7.95 |
| 2018/19 | 8.01 | 7.88 | 7.94 |
| 2019/20 | 7.95 | 7.86 | 7.9 |
| 2020/21 | 7.63 | 7.71 | 7.71 |
| 2021/22 | 8.0 | 7.78 | 7.84 |
Source: Annual Population Survey (APS): Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figure 4. Measure of personal well-being (Anxiety) in Buckinghamshire, compared to the South East region and England average, 2011/12 to 2021/22
| Year | Buckinghamshire | England | South East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011/12 | 3.04 | 3.14 | 3.07 |
| 2012/13 | 2.95 | 3.04 | 3.04 |
| 2013/14 | 2.9 | 2.93 | 2.87 |
| 2014/15 | 3.16 | 2.86 | 2.82 |
| 2015/16 | 2.82 | 2.87 | 2.84 |
| 2016/17 | 2.9 | 2.91 | 2.87 |
| 2017/18 | 2.85 | 2.9 | 2.92 |
| 2018/19 | 2.89 | 2.87 | 2.88 |
| 2019/20 | 2.85 | 3.04 | 3.11 |
| 2020/21 | 3.25 | 3.31 | 3.27 |
| 2021/22 | 2.99 | 3.13 | 3.17 |
Source: Annual Population Survey (APS): Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Lower levels of diagnosed mental health disorders
Adult rates of both diagnosed common mental health disorders and more severe mental health conditions are lower in Buckinghamshire than England. For example, 12.2% of patients registered with a GP in Buckinghamshire had a diagnosis of depression, compared with 12.7% in England.
Similarly, in 2021/2022, 0.77% of registered patients in Buckinghamshire had a severe mental illness compared with 0.95% in England.
The prevalence of severe mental health illness has not changed significantly over time. However, over the last ten years there has been a steady increase in the percentage of the population diagnosed with common mental health disorders, such as depression. This reflects a national pattern.
The importance of promoting mental health in our children and young people
Around half of lifetime mental health conditions (excluding dementia) start before the age of 14 and mental health problems in the teenage years have been linked to poorer wellbeing into old age.
A national survey, conducted in 2021, found that 17.4% of 6- to 16-year-olds in England are likely to have a mental health disorder (see glossary for definition).[iii] Applying this percentage to the Buckinghamshire population would suggest that approximately 16,500 children in our county have a mental health condition.
There have been national reports of an increase in the number of children and young people seeking treatment for severe mental health crisis in recent years, in particular linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is consistent with the Buckinghamshire picture where we have seen an increase in all hospital admissions for children and young people for mental health problems over the last decade.
Action to promote and protect mental health in the children of our county can have long-term benefits for our population.