Number of children on antidepressants is rising

The number of children being prescribed antidepressants in the UK has risen over the last three years.

In England, the number of children on antidepressants has gone up by 15%. In Scotland, there was a 10% rise. In Northern Ireland, there has been a 6% increase. Wales were unable to provide their figure.

In 2015-2016 there were 290,393 antidepressant prescriptions and by 2017-18 this had risen to 330,616. The sharpest increase of prescriptions was for children under the age of 12 – the number rose by 24%.

Overall there were more than 950,000 prescriptions issued between 2015 and 2018.

Evidence suggests that only one in four children are being treated for any mental health issues they may have. The increase in prescriptions suggests that more and more children are now receiving the treatment they require. However, prescriptions should be only given out to those who genuinely need them and the risks of taking antidepressants must be continuously monitored.

Waiting times for children’s mental health services are getting longer, with the average child having to wait 12 weeks before being seen.

This is a likely contributor to the increase in antidepressant prescriptions.

Amanda Cavanagh, a Medical Negligence Specialist at Ashtons Legal, says: “There is an obviously dangerous gap between child and adult mental services. Perhaps instead of trying to plug the gap CAMHS could rethink their criteria for age appropriate provision. Something needs to be done to stop these young adults falling through the gap, whether that means increasing the child age for mental health services to 18 or adopting another criteria, there should not be a 2 year limbo for patients in need.”