§ Mrs. WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to reduce the cost of mental depression to the United Kingdom economy; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness to date. [3894]
§ Mr. BurnsMental illness is one of five key areas in "The Health of the Nation" strategy. The majority of depressive disorders are treated in primary care by general practitioners. We are taking action and promoting initiatives to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the condition in primary care. For example, we are working to develop GP training in the recognition and management of depression and to encourage audit of the management of the condition in primary care; in addition, we collaborated with the Royal College of General 405W Practitioners and the Royal College of Psychiatrists on the recent "defeat depression" campaign, which aimed to improve detection and prevention of the condition.
§ Mrs. WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 October 1996,Official Report, column 759, if he will commission research into the impact of mental depression on the United Kingdom's economy; and if he will make a statement. [3896]
§ Mr. BurnsWe are already undertaking a range of research into depression. For example, the Department's policy research programme has commissioned a number of studies into severe mental illness, many of which are related to depression. We expect to spend some £500,000 on these studies in 1996–97. In addition, we have made £2.4 million available over the next five years within the policy research programme's mental health research initiative. Many of the commissioned studies within the initiative relate to depression. Work currently being undertaken by the personal social services research unit under the policy research programme is looking at the economic impact of mental disorders, which include depression. The Medical Research Council, the main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research, has a comprehensive portfolio of research on depressive illness. In particular, it funds a number of trials which examine different types of treatment and therapies for depression. Total funding for this research amounted to almost £0.9 million in 1994–95.