Doctors’ leaders have launched a major campaign to stop medics “over-treating” their patients in ways that do not help and could even harm them. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they suggest some patients are given pills or have tests they do not need by doctors who feel under pressure to act.

They argue patients should feel able to discuss whether there are simpler, safer options that are right for them. But experts warn they must not change treatment without medical advice.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) says there is growing evidence that pressure for doctors to “do something” at each consultation has led to patients sometimes receiving treatments that are of little or no value. And the report suggests a culture of “more is better” means some individuals are being over-diagnosed – labelled with conditions that may in the end do them little harm.

Launching the Choosing Wisely campaign, experts are calling on key medical organisations to identify five interventions each that should not be offered routinely or in some cases not at all.

These might include:

. Pills for mild depression

. Too many routine and unnecessary blood tests

. Medicines for mildly raised blood pressure

Prof Dame Sue Bailey, a leading psychiatrist and a main author of the report, argues many patients with mild depression could instead be offered group exercise classes or talking therapies first.

And she says frequent blood tests can be particularly distressing for elderly people with frail skin. She also argues that for some patients with mildly elevated blood pressure, changing their lifestyle might be the most appropriate initial option.

But other experts defend the use of these pills in mild, moderate and severe cases and the charity Blood Pressure UK warns patients to consult their doctors before changing their medicine.

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