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 he has made of the propensity of GPs to prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for patients who have depression.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Data on the proportion of general practitioners who regularly prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression is not collected or held centrally.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is a brief psychological therapy specifically designed to prevent relapse in individuals with a history of recurrent depression. Treatment is often delivered in groups and starts after an initial intervention for an acute episode has been completed. Mindfulness is not recommended as a primary treatment for an acute depressive episode. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) examines evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness when providing guidelines and recommendations of treatment. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme was set up to deliver evidence based psychological therapies, including mindfulness-based therapies, as recommended by NICE, for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
The responsibility for prescribing rests with the doctor or prescriber who has clinical responsibility for that particular aspect of a patient’s care. Good communication between practitioners and patients is essential and prescribers should always involve patients in decisions about the treatment proposed.
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, if he will estimate the proportion of GPs who regularly prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Data on the proportion of general practitioners who regularly prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression is not collected or held centrally.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is a brief psychological therapy specifically designed to prevent relapse in individuals with a history of recurrent depression. Treatment is often delivered in groups and starts after an initial intervention for an acute episode has been completed. Mindfulness is not recommended as a primary treatment for an acute depressive episode. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) examines evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness when providing guidelines and recommendations of treatment. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme was set up to deliver evidence based psychological therapies, including mindfulness-based therapies, as recommended by NICE, for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
The responsibility for prescribing rests with the doctor or prescriber who has clinical responsibility for that particular aspect of a patient’s care. Good communication between practitioners and patients is essential and prescribers should always involve patients in decisions about the treatment proposed.
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, if he will increase the level of funding for relationship advice and sexual health services for teenagers.
Answered by Jo Churchill
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 estimate he has made of any potential financial savings to the NHS of an increased take up of mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
An estimate into the potential savings of mindfulness-based therapy has not been made.
The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme was set up to deliver evidence based psychological therapies, including mindfulness-based therapies, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders but information is not available broken down by therapy type.
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 the rate of mental illness is of (a) males in the richest decile and (b) females in the poorest decile.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information is not available in the format requested.
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 information he holds on the incidence of (a) self harming, (b) eating disorders and (c) mental illness among (i) boys and (ii) girls in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information is not held in the format requested.
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, if he will estimate the average cost to the public purse of treating repeated episodes of depression by (a) drugs, (b) individual counselling and (c) mindfulness-based therapy in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
It is not possible to make such an estimate as reference costs are based on the cost of the average care pathway and are not broken down further by therapy type.
National Health Service providers submit reference costs annually. Reference costs detail the average unit cost to the NHS of providing defined services to NHS patients in England in a given financial year.
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 expenditure by his Department on the NHS was spent on mental health services in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information available is in the following table. Information on National Health Service mental health expenditure is not available prior to the introduction of the mental health investment standard from 2015-16. Before the introduction of the mental health investment standard, the NHS was not required to report mental health spend separately.
Year | Total Departmental expenditure (£ billions) | NHS mental health expenditure (£ billions) | Mental health expenditure as a percentage of total Departmental expenditure % |
2010-11 | 100.4 | n/a | - |
2011-12 | 102.8 | n/a | - |
2012-13 | 105.2 | n/a | - |
2013-14 | 109.8 | n/a | - |
2014-15 | 113.3 | n/a | - |
2015-16 | 117.2 | 10.9 | 9.3 |
2016-17 | 120.6 | 11.6 | 9.6 |
2017-18 | 125.2 | 11.9 | 9.5 |
2018-19 | 130.4 | 12.11 | 9.3 |
Source: Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard
Note:
1Planned spend. Actual spend is not yet available.
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 (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery rates from (i) cardiovascular disease, (ii) cancer and (iii) mental health conditions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department is investing over £1 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s research programmes provide a flexible source of funding. Applications are welcome for research into any aspect of human health, including research on the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery from Cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health conditions; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. 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 funds a number of research projects exploring the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery rates from cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health conditions. Studies range in their focus, from specific vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with mental health conditions or learning disabilities to the wider impact of social isolation and loneliness on an individual’s physical and mental health and well-being. The NIHR is funding two large studies focussing on improving the quality of life for people with serious mental health conditions, for example a £2.7 million study which includes testing a targeted, intervention to expand social networks of patients with psychosis and a £3.95 million study on immersive virtual reality as a treatment to help individuals with schizophrenia safely and confidently enter everyday situations. A current trial is testing an intervention to improve the physical and mental health outcomes for people who may be isolated due to a range of physical, psychological and social factors. Other studies, whose primary focus is not loneliness or social isolation, explore the effects of these within a broader context, for example a current study is researching the specific late effects of chemotherapy (such as hearing loss) and the associate impact on quality of life, including social isolation.
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 resources his Department has allocated to raise awareness of his green paper and open consultation entitled Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Specific spending commitments in the Green Paper will be met from existing budgets. We plan to promote the consultation through social media and stakeholder engagement.