More of us seeking help for depression

Wednesday 13 January 2016

There’s been a huge rise in the number of us being prescribed pills for depression - an illness that cost the taxpayer more than half a million pounds in medication costs last year.

Social Security estimate that almost 8,000 Islanders were treated for it in 2015 - that's 43% more of us taking antidepressants than five years ago.

The figures come from a recent FOI request and show that nearly 95,000 prescriptions were handed out in 2015, compared to 66,180 back in 2010.

But the Social Security department says we’re not all on them to treat depression, and that some antidepressants are prescribed to help treat conditions like chronic nerve pain.

The figures are based on an assumption that those on the medication need one prescription a month, and don’t take into account any private prescriptions.

Last year it was revealed that almost one in 11 British adults was on anti-depressants, and that the UK had the fourth highest rate of prescriptions within 27 EU countries.

NHS data showed that 2015 saw more than 57 million antidepressant prescriptions - a figure that has almost doubled in ten years.