Soon some patients diagnosed with depression will be sent to gardening and arts clubs rather than automatically being prescribed with pills, the new health secretary has promised. This announcement has been made following the investigation into the claim that one in six adults was given antidepressants last year.
Health secretary, Matt Hancock said that he would give GPs alternatives to “unsophisticated drugs” with the aim that depressed patients will have social alternatives to taking pills.
Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat former health minister said, “I think there needs to be a serious review on whether this reflects appropriate prescribing. That’s not to challenge the effectiveness and efficacy of antidepressants for certain people, but this mass prescribing, often for long periods, is disturbing, especially when there is a lack of availability of therapies which are clinically effective.”
The aim for this pill alternative is that a larger range of options will be available for depressed patients, such as gardening courses or encouraging them to pursue other interests, in a move away from mass-prescribing pills.
Mr Hancock claimed that there is key evidence for the advantages of social prescriptions, where prescribing a gardening course, for example, has improved people’s physical and mental wellbeing. This can be helpful for patients as it encourages them to take part in social activities and get them out of the house.
Christopher Dowrick, a GP and mental health researcher at the University of Liverpool, said “If you say, ‘You can get better by taking some medicine’ that’s having a particular view of yourself. But if you find you can get better by doing things yourself . . . in the longer term you’re giving people an ability to control their own life.
