Anti-depressants are the quick fix for under pressure health service
The 43% rise in prescriptions written for anti-depressants last year is a symptom of societal change according to a mental health author and campaigner.
“Anti-depressants like Prozac are cheap,” said Robert Ashton, author of 'I Know Somebody Like That' and mental health campaigner. “It only costs £3 or £4 for a month’s supply which is less than the prescription charge.”
“They are the quick-fix for an under-pressure health service: GP’s only have to listen to a tale-of-woe for ten minutes and issue the script,” he said.
Doctor’s surgeries and charities have reported that they were increasing interviewing patients who are struggling with debt and job worries.
Referrals from GP’s for one-to-one talking therapies have increased four-fold to nearly 600,000 in the last year.
Dr Clare Gerada, of the Royal College of GPs, said “in times of economic problems we would expect mental health problems to worsen - and GPs are seeing more people coming in with debts racking up, or who have lost their job and are cancelling their holidays.”
Robert Ashton said that an underlying shift in our society was also contributing to the problem.
“We live in an increasingly non-hierarchical society and many people are finding it difficult to cope with the increased personal responsibility that delivers” he said.
“The Big Society gives everyone more opportunity to mould society as they want it rather than decisions being imposed ‘top down’ upon them.”
“If people are worried and the drugs help them to acclimatise to societal change then you could argue that they are a good thing,” said Mr Ashton. ‘Better to ease the anxiety with a little pill every morning than to hit the bottle every night.’