Lord Bethell, the Department of Health and Social Care, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL13151):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many anti-depressants have been dispensed to (1) people under 18 years old, and (2) primary school children in each of the past ten years; and what was the total cost to the NHS. (HL13151)
Tabled on: 09 February 2021
Answer:
Lord Bethell:
Information prior to 2015 is not held. The following tables show the number of antidepressant products that were prescribed to under 18 year olds and the subsequent subset of those aged 5 to 11 years old in England on a National Health Service prescription, dispensed in the community in England between April 2015, the earliest age-based data held, and November 2020, the latest data available. Information relating to items dispensed in secondary care is not collected centrally.
Number of antidepressant items prescribed and dispensed in the community in England to patients aged under 18 years old.
Calendar year
Number of prescription items
2015 (Nine months from April)
233,094
2016
329,954
2017
342,997
2018
361,436
2019
379,134
2020 (11 months up to November)
358,835
Number of antidepressant items prescribed and dispensed in the community in England to patients aged 5 to 11 years old.
Calendar year
Number of prescription items
2015 (Nine months from April)
9,336
2016
12,988
2017
13,647
2018
14,274
2019
14,529
2020 (11 months up to November)
14,187
Date and time of answer: 03 Mar 2021 at 12:30
Lord Bethell, the Department of Health and Social Care, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL13150):
The total cost of prescription items prescribed and dispensed in the community in England to patients aged under 18 years old, including patients in the 5 to 11 years old age group between April 2015 and November 2020 was £9,110,589.79.
Question from Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many anti-depressants have been dispensed by the NHS in each of the past ten years; and what was the total cost to the NHS. (HL13150)
Tabled on: 09 February 2021
Answer:
Lord Bethell:
The annual number of anti-depressants that have been prescribed and dispensed in England in the community between 2011-November 2020, the latest data available, is provided in the following table. Information is not held for items dispensed in secondary care. The total cost of prescription items between this period was £2,543,305,593.92
Calendar year
Number of prescription items
2011
46,677,813
2012
50,167,201
2013
53,326,550
2014
57,149,109
2015
61,021,662
2016
64,703,639
2017
67,530,457
2018
70,873,979
2019
74,814,619
January – November 2020
71,801,824
Note:
The data provided for the years 2011-2013 was supplied from NHS Digital whilst the data provided for the years 2014-2020 was supplied from the NHS Business Services Authority. Any data prior to 2014 may classify many products in different ways due to a significant reclassification of products.
Date and time of answer: 03 Mar 2021 at 12:31.
