An average of 70,168 children per year in England were taking antidepressants from 2020 to 2025, including an average of 2,545 under the age of 12, according to NHS figures. Clinical guidelines state that children should be assessed by a psychiatrist before being prescribed antidepressants. Many GPs feel forced to prescribe outside these guidelines due to skyrocketing demand and long wait times for specialist services.
Gloucestershire GP Tom Sutherland said approximately one-third of patients in a day at his surgery could be young people with mental health complaints. Child referrals to mental health services regularly reached over 100,000 a month since 2022, up from a monthly average of 45,850 in 2017. Nationwide, around one in seven people, roughly nine million, are taking antidepressants, but regional disparities are stark.
In the North East, around one in four people are on antidepressants, while in London, just one in eight are. A lack of NHS resources in poorer parts of the country means GPs are increasingly relying on antidepressants to treat patients. NHS England states antidepressants should only be prescribed alongside other mental health support.
Antidepressants can be prescribed to young people for depression, anxiety, bedwetting, and pain. 6 million a decade before. The long-term outcomes for children prescribed antidepressants compared to those who receive alternative treatments are not fully known.