Around 76,000 prescriptions for the drugs were issued in the Island last year – seven per cent more than in 2010, figures from Social Security show. And there has been a 6–7% increase each year for the past five years.
Moves are taking place in Jersey to make access for patients to psychological therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy easier – but this will need financial investment in the service.
The chairman of the Primary Care Body, Dr Nigel Minihane, said that he was not surprised by the high increase and he believed that there were a number of reasons for it.
At a time of economic problems affecting Jersey and the UK – where prescriptions for antidepressants have also soared – some people in the Island were now falling below the poverty line,’ he said.
