Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that those seeking support for managing pain are offered a choice of options through the NHS including mindfulness-based therapies, to reduce the proportion of treatments that rely on medication and the risk of overprescribing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain, published in April 2021, recommends a range of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for pain management. NICE found there was insufficient evidence on mindfulness to recommend it as an option for pain management within this guideline. However, it made recommendations for research on mindfulness to inform future guidance. A copy of NICE’s guideline is attached.

The National Health Service is also taking a holistic approach to supporting people’s health and wellbeing by expanding its social prescribing services. This enables general practitioners to refer people to community groups and agencies for practical, emotional and social support, for example when managing pain.