Royal College of Psychiatrists adds voice to concerns over NICE guidance on depression

Patients coming off antidepressants have a wide range of experiences and some have severe symptoms, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has acknowledged in a statement urging the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to update its guidance.

The college is a late recruit to a campaign that has been waged in The BMJ, the press, and on social media over what is seen as complacency in the face of many complaints from patients. At the heart of the argument is NICE, strongly criticised for a draft revision of its 2009 guidance published in July 2017.

Critics have said that the draft relied on inadequate data and largely ignored the views of patients. This week 35 organisations including the British …