Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapies in the treatment of (a) stress, (b) depression and (c) other mental health conditions in the last five years; and which organisation conducted each such research project.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including mindfulness-based therapies for the treatment of mental health conditions. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom and it has considerable investments in translational, clinical and applied mental health research. NIHR investment in mental health research for 2017/18 was £74.8 million. In the last five years the NIHR has funded a number of studies investigating mindfulness-based therapies for a range of mental health conditions across its research programmes, biomedical and applied research centres and research fellowships. These range from a trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with mild to moderate depression to a study which is evaluating the effects of mindfulness and connection with nature on chronic stress and well-being in deprived areas.
The attached table provides details of these studies, including which organisation conducted each project.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff were qualified to treat patients with mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how UK mindfulness research centres and universities have contributed to the development of NHS mindfulness-based practice and therapies.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department is not aware of how United Kingdom mindfulness research centres and universities may have contributed to the development of National Health Service mindfulness-based practice and therapies.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of patients treated for mental health disorders in NHS facilities received (a) drugs, (b) psychological therapy, (c) mindfulness meditation and (d) a combination of such approaches in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS has spent on (a) anti-depressant drugs and (b) mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Information on how much the National Health Service has spent on antidepressant drugs is not collected in the format requested.
Information on expenditure on mindfulness-based therapies provided through NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services is not separately identifiable and cannot be provided.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government spent on research into (a) anti-depressant drug treatment and (b) mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including mental health. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom. It has considerable investments in translational, clinical and applied mental health research. NIHR investment in mental health research for 2017/18 was £74.8 million.
The latest spend figures for research on antidepressant drug treatment and mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy are as follows:
Antidepressant drugs:
Financial Expenditure | ||
2017/18 | 2018/19 | |
NIHR Programmes total spend | £2,558,406.14 | £3,269,938.30 |
Mindfulness - based therapy
Financial Expenditure | ||
2017/18 | 2018/19 | |
NIHR Programmes total spend | £206,648 | £308,645.22 |
It should be noted that the spend figure on antidepressants will include studies where anti-depressants are repurposed for use in treating other conditions or where an anti-depressant will be being compared to a non-pharmacological intervention.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) efficacy and (b) cost of the use of (i) anti-depressant drugs and (ii) mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy and mindfulness cognitive behaviour therapy.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for the regulation of medicines used in the United Kingdom, including efficacy. Anti-depressant medicines licensed in the UK have been approved after robust supporting data has been submitted to demonstrate the quality, safety and efficacy of the product for the condition it is intended to treat. For a medicine to be licenced, the benefit to risk balance should be positive.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) examines evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness when providing guidelines and recommendations of treatment. Presently, mindfulness-based therapy is only recommended for the treatment of depression in adults. NICE pathways bring together everything NICE says on a topic. The pathway for depression, including antidepressant treatment, is available at the following link:
https://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/depression
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of (a) unemployment and (b) poverty on levels of mental illness.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2014) assessed various psychiatric disorders and considered a range of socioeconomic aspects, namely household type, employment status and benefit status. The data showed that people in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance experienced particularly high rates of most disorders. The Survey’s report is available at the following link:
The Health Survey for England (2014) reported on the prevalence of being diagnosed with a mental illness, by household income and area deprivation. It found that men and women living in lower income households were more likely to report ever having been diagnosed with a mental illness than those living in higher income households. The Survey’s report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of living in (a) an urban and (b) a rural environment on levels of mental illness.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Public Health England and the Local Government Association published the report, Health and Wellbeing in Rural Areas in 2017 at the following link:
https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/1.39_Health%20in%20rural%20areas_WEB.pdf
The report highlights the variation in social factors that impact people in rural and urban areas, including factors that influence mental health and wellbeing.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published guidance to help policy makers assess the impact of policies on rural communities, recognising the specific issues faced by these communities at the following link:
Scores from the General Health Questionnaire psychometric screening tool show that people living in greener areas experienced significantly lower levels of mental distress while life satisfaction scores show significantly higher levels of wellbeing among people living in greener areas.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of universities on research into mindfulness-based therapies; and what research projects his Department has funded into mindfulness-based therapies in the last three years.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
No such discussions have taken place.
The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
In the last three years, the NIHR has funded a number of studies investigating mindfulness-based therapies for a range of conditions from depression to chronic pelvic pain; and for individuals throughout the life course, including learning mindfulness in schools and mindfulness interventions for mood and cognitive functioning in older adults.