Prescriptions for depression drugs double in decade

PRESCRIPTIONS for antidepressants have doubled in a decade and almost 65million were written out last year.

This works out at just over 177,000 every day, costing the health service nearly £267million a year.

Prescriptions for antidepressants are rising at a faster rate than any other drug, according to NHS figures.

Experts say the trend is ‘deeply concerning’ and fear patients are being fobbed off with pills when they should be offered therapy.

The increase also reflects the fact that rising numbers of adults and children are being diagnosed with mental health conditions.

This has been particularly notable among women and may be due to the pressures of trying to raise a family, hold down a job and care for aging parents.

Figures from NHS Digital yesterday also highlighted a sharp rise in prescriptions for diabetes drugs. Some 51.5million were handed out in 2016 compared to 23.1million a decade earlier. Most are likely to have been for Type 2 diabetes – which accounts for 90 per cent of cases and is triggered by obesity.

The figures show that the NHS handed out a total of 1.1billion prescriptions in 2016 at a cost of £9.2billion. But MPs and charities were most concerned about sharp rise in prescriptions for antidepressants. The 65million last year compares with 61million in 2015 and is a rise 108 per cent on the 31million figure for 2006.

Norman Lamb, Lib Dem health spokesman said: ‘GPs over-prescribe antidepressants because of the long waiting lists for mental health services. We need to properly invest in mental health.’

Marjorie Wallace of mental health charity SANE said: ‘The increase in antidepressant prescriptions is reflected in the number of callers to us who say that they are experiencing more frequent and acute periods of depression and anxiety.

‘It seems that more and more people are feeling unsafe and uncertain due to factors that include social and political change, the impact of social media and fragmentation of relationships.

‘It is so important to ensure that talking therapies are available and that people are not waiting until they reach a crisis.’

The NHS has promised to ensure mental health patients receive the same level of care as those with physical conditions. Talking therapies are believed to be far more effective than pills for most conditions, but there is a lack of trained counsellors.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, pointed out that the rise in prescriptions could reflect the fact that mental health conditions are being better identified and the stigma associated with them has been reduced.

‘Waiting until they reach a crisis’