Some people may prefer to see a therapist in person

The NHS should offer online psychological counselling for people with depression, a leading mental health expert says.

A Lancet study of online cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) showed it more than doubled the chances of recovery.

Dr Tim Kendall, who led the drawing up of national guidelines on depression, called for online access to become part of the drive to widen access to CBT.

One in six people experience depression at some point in their lives.

Much has been said in recent years about a reliance on antidepressants, with prescriptions for the drugs increasing almost two-fold in a decade, from 18,424,473 in 1998 to 35,960,500 last year.

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The Tories say their plans will be cheaper than a national database

The Conservatives want to let you view your health records online.

All they have to do first is dismantle one of the biggest civil IT projects in the world.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley made headlines when he told the BBC about plans to give patients access to their medical histories through their home PCs.

But to achieve that the Tories want to pick apart the massive NHS computer project known as the National Programme for IT.

Its goal is to electronically link all GPs and hospitals in England.

Its price tag is £12.7bn, and part of the project is at least four years late. It has long been the target of criticism from MPs, medics and the media.

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