Anti-depressants: Cost, Risks and Ramifications

Lord Alton of Liverpool Excerpts

Wednesday 11th December 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Alton of Liverpool]

To ask His Majesty’s Government how many individuals have been prescribed anti-depressants by the NHS in England in the past 10 years, at what cost, and what assessment they have made of the risks and ramifications.

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we are still waiting for the Minister, my noble friend Lady Merron, to arrive to answer the first Question, which I am very sorry about. I did tell people that we were not starting this afternoon with Prayers, so I am somewhat embarrassed to be standing here to tell the House that we shall have to wait a few moments for my noble friend to arrive. [Interruption.] Thankfully, I have no information, so I shall keep talking on the basis that at some point my noble friend Lady Merron will arrive and answer the Question before us.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

I apologise to your Lordships’ House and am grateful to my noble friend the Chief Whip, as ever.

In 2023-24, 8.7 million identified patients were prescribed anti-depressants at a cost of £220 million, compared with 2015-16, when the cost was £270 million for prescriptions to 6.88 million people. The NHS Business Services Authority reports patient prescribing data on an annual basis rather than a running total. All licensed anti-depressants meet robust standards of safety, quality and efficacy, constantly reviewed by the MHRA.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, for her reply and for facilitating and attending our meeting with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Has she had the chance to read the correspondence I shared with her from the bereaved family of Thomas Kingston, who, like Olivia Russell, committed suicide while using anti-depressants? Has she noted that the coroner intends to issue a prevention of future death report to the MHRA? In the light of this tragedy, what can the Minister do to create a more rigorous approval regime, including greater definition of risk? Given that hundreds of millions of these drugs are issued, at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds, will the Government establish a longer-term inquiry to ask searching questions about root causes—what is leading to endless repeat prescriptions and driving such widespread reliance on anti-depressants?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Thomas Kingston after his very tragic death earlier this year. We await the findings of the inquest and will act on any recommendations by the coroner as appropriate. While there has been an increase in prescribing, as the noble Lord observes, anti-depressants, for example, are often prescribed for a wide range of reasons—not just for the treatment of depression but for migraine, chronic pain, and ME, among other conditions. The other possible reason for the increase is because of the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment, but prescribing anti-depressants is never the first port of call—it is just one of the tools in the box to assist people. There are no current plans to conduct a review.