Antidepressants: Children
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were prescribed antidepressants in each year since 2007.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds data going back to April 2015, but not prior to this date. The following table shows the total number of patients aged 17 years old and under that were prescribed antidepressants for the financial years 2015/16 to 2023/24:
Financial year | Total identified patients aged 17 years old and under |
2015/16 | 65,594 |
2016/17 | 65,428 |
2017/18 | 65,555 |
2018/19 | 67,631 |
2019/20 | 68,794 |
2020/21 | 65,266 |
2021/22 | 71,251 |
2022/23 | 71,263 |
2023/24 | 66,483 |
Source: NHSBSA Statistical Collections, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/medicines-used-mental-health-england
These cover antidepressants prescribed in England that are then dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.
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