Written question asked by Doug Naysmith (Labour) on Monday, 31 March 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 April 2008. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Monday, 21 April 2008 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Antidepressants: Prescriptions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will (a) undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness of and (b) issue new guidance on prescribing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants.

Answer: A review of the safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) by the Government's expert working group on the safety of SSRIs was published in December 2004 and updated prescribing advice has been issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as new information has become available. Most recently, a summary of the current regulatory position with respect to SSRIs was released by the MHRA on 6 March 2008 and copies have been placed in the Library.The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its clinical guideline on depression, ‘Management of Depression in Primary and Secondary Care’, in December 2004. NICE plans to review its guidance in December 2008.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 474 c1774W; 198667
Session: 2007-08
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2008-1051
Monday, 21 April 2008
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Prescriptions Antidepressants
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk