A HIGHER percentage of people with a mental health problems are living in Blackburn with Darwen than anywhere else in England.

According to Public Health England, 1.11 per cent of the population of Blackburn with Darwen has a mental health problem.

In East Lancashire as a whole, the figure is 0.98 per cent of the total population.

In Blackburn and Darwen, seven per cent of residents are living with depression and 6.2 per cent in East Lancashire – higher than the national average Mental health problems can arise from many factors and include situations involving personal and professional circumstances.

Lisa Moorhouse, adult mental health network director at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said following the release of the 2013/14 statistics, teams are working to draw up care programmes.

She said: “The trust provides a range of services across the area to provide help and support to people who may be feeling low.

“Our Mindsmatter team offers a variety of services such as cognitive behavioural therapy, stress management workshops and online courses which people can self-refer to or be referred via their GP.

“Our community restart teams also link in with local support groups and external organisations which provide additional assistance to help people become involved in the community.

“Our teams do a lot of work in the area to raise awareness of the help available to people experiencing mental health problems and to reduce the stigma to encourage people to seek help sooner.

“For anyone who is looking for someone to talk to, there is also the Wellbeing and Mental Health helpline which provides an out of hours listening service for anyone feeling low or in distress, as well as signposting callers to further support.

“We would encourage anyone who is concerned about their mental health to contact their GP or one of our services to seek help and guidance; it is important that people are aware of the services available.”