Antidepressant prescriptions on the rise in Luton and Milton Keynes and Beds

Leading mental health charity Mind has suggested an increase in the number of prescriptions across England could be a sign of worsening mental health across the country.

Figures from the Open Prescribing Service show 1,086,832 prescriptions for antidepressants were given out in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes CCG area in the year to March – a monthly average of 85.1 prescriptions per 1,000 patients.

This was an increase of 4% from the year before, when an average of 82.1 were given per 1000 patients, and an increase of 8% from 2019-20.

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed to improve mental health but may also be taken for conditions not directly related to this – such as certain types of long-term pain.

However, the story is similar for "selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors", the most commonly prescribed antidepressants for mental health conditions in England.

These are thought to increase the level of serotonin in the brain, and are often used to treat depression and anxiety.

SSRI prescriptions increased from a monthly average of 44.7 per 1,000 patients in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes in the year to March 2020 to 48.1 in 2022 – a rise of 8%.

In Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, SSRIs were prescribed 615,144 times last year – equating to 51,262 a month.

These figures are for the number of times medication has appeared on prescriptions, but do not show the quantity of medication given, and multiple prescriptions can be given to the same patient.

Mind says the pandemic may have caused a spike in conditions such as depression, but that many of those suffering were reluctant to seek help at the time.

The charity's head of information, Stephen Buckley, said: “Recent data on increased prescription rates suggests people are once again asking for help from their GP.

"The increase in prescriptions could indicate the prevalence of poor mental health is likely to have increased, which seems likely, and echoes our own research."

Across England, antidepressants appeared on 83 million prescriptions in the year to March, 45 million of which were for SSRIs.

This was an increase from 79 million and 43 million respectively the year before.