Doctors are prescribing antidepressants far more heavily in northern regions of England than in much of the rest of the country, according to data collected by the Guardian, which shows a remarkable north-south divide.
The highest rates of prescribing are in Blackpool, Salford, and Redcar and Cleveland, all in the north of the country. Prescriptions in these areas, per 100,000 population, ranged from 133,829 to 120,137 last year. The figures are more than three times higher than the prescription rate in the least medicated health care area, Kensington and Chelsea in west London.
Depression rates are known to be higher in deprived areas, where people struggle with unemployment and poverty. Many of the northern towns also have high levels of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, where depression is also an issue.
However, health boards in London with high levels of socio-economic deprivation are among the lowest areas for prescriptions. In the London areas of Brent, Ealing, Camden, Hackney and Newham, prescribing rates are between 35,914 and 44,066 per 100,000.
While the startling variations in prescription rates reflect a complex mixture of circumstances, two major underlying issues emerged during inquiries by the Guardian: the availability of talking therapies and the readiness of family doctors to offer them to their patients instead of pills.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence say talking therapies should be tried for mild to moderate depression. If these do not work, or the patient is seriously depressed, then antidepressants can be prescribed.
Since 2007 the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT) has been funding training of extra therapists to tackle depression, with the extra aim of getting people back into work.
Some of the most medicated northern areas were included only in the third wave of IAPT, which means the newly qualified therapists are only now becoming available. County Durham and Darlington, in northeast England, for instance, says it will be October before its IAPT staff are all out of training.
“IAPT represents a massive increase to the number of therapists available to County Durham and Darlington and goes a long way toward addressing long waiting lists to access talking therapies,” the local health board said in a statement.
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