Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people over the age of 65 are using medication for depression; and if he will estimate how many such people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.

Nicola Blackwood

Information about the number of people over the age of 65 using medication for depression is not collected. Conditions for which medicines are prescribed are not recorded.

Loneliness is a complex problem and affects people in different ways. It is not possible to estimate how many people cite loneliness as a contributory factor to their depression.