Antidepressant figures cause concern for MP
NORTH EAST RATES OF USE ARE AMONG HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY
FAMILY doctors are dishing out “dangerous” levels of prescriptions across the North East, according to a veteran Labour MP.
Official figures show the North East tops the ‘league table’ for antidepressant prescriptions across the UK.
The number of prescriptions across the North East rose by 285,189 in one year, from 4,868,544 in 2016/17 to 5,153,733 in 2017/18, NHS data shows.
Ronnie Campbell, Labour MP for Blyth Valley , said over-prescription was putting families at risk.
He said: “We have reached a dangerous situation. Too often prescriptions are doled out willy-nilly when other treatments could be more effective.
“And people don’t realise the dangers of [the difficulty of] getting off antidepressants once they’ve become a habit.”
An analysis by The Chronicle found that many parts of the North East have some of the highest prescription rates in the country. The Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – the local NHS authority – reported 639,278 prescriptions in 2017-18, or 2.33 prescriptions for every person in the area.
This was the second highest rate in the country.
Sunderland, South Tees, North Durham and North Tyneside CCGs also had some of the highest prescription rates in the country.
Mr Campbell spoke out as a group of MPs warned that doctors may be failing to warn patients about the risks of antidepressants.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence,
chaired by Conservative former cabinet minister Sir Oliver Letwin, published research which suggests doctors and psychiatrists may be failing to warn patients about the potential risks of antidepressants, and subsequently fail to recognise withdrawal symptoms.
The first report, Antidepressant Withdrawal: A Survey of Patients’ Experience, was authored by researchers at the University of Roehampton
on behalf of the MPs, and is based on the results of a survey of 319 UK patients affected by antidepressant withdrawal.
It found 64% of patients claimed not to have received any information from their doctors on the risks or side effects of antidepressants, while only 2.5% of patients found NHS 111 to be a helpful source of support during withdrawal.
In addition, responses to the survey made clear that the impact of antidepressant withdrawal can be devastating for some individuals, with 30% of respondents reporting being off work indefinitely due to the severity of their withdrawal symptoms.
Sir Oliver said: “These reports indicate that many doctors are unaware of the potential harms of antidepressants, and fail to communicate the risks to their patients.
“This highlights the need for additional guidance and training in this area, and we hope that Public Health England will consider this.”
Rosanna O’Connor, director of Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco at Public Health England, said: “It is of real concern that many people find themselves dependent on or suffering withdrawal symptoms from prescribed medicines, which is why PHE has been commissioned to carry out a review.
“It is vital that we have the best understanding possible of how widespread these problems are and the harms they cause, as well as the most effective ways to prevent them happening and help those in need.”