NICE guidance on depression: 35 health organisations demand “full and proper” revision

A coalition of health bodies has met with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to call for a “full and proper revision” of its 2009 guideline on adult depression.1 The update was due to be released in January 2018 but has been delayed after extensive criticism.

The coalition, led by the Society for Psychotherapy Research, said that it still has serious concerns about significant flaws in methodology, a lack of transparency, and inconsistencies found in the updated draft guideline published in July 2017.

A position statement signed by 35 health organisations—including the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence, the British Psychological Society, the British Acupuncture Council, and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust—said that the guideline was not fit for purpose and, …