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.

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.