Our mental health time bomb - Antidepressant nation
It also found huge variations in prescribing rates and in the cost of drugs nationwide.
At the same time, the number of prescriptions written for anti-depression drugs under the General Medical Services Scheme increased by up to 25% between 2011 and 2012.
Whether the figures are economically driven or result from the recession, there does appear to be a link between levels of poverty and mental health.
In Limerick, up to one in five of the total population was prescribed anti-anxiety pills or anti-depressants in 2012, the highest percentage in the country. This is double the figure of prescriptions in south Dublin, the most affluent region in the country.
It may be overstating things to suggest that we are facing a mental health epidemic. Nevertheless, the figures show cause for concern and the situation is likely to worsen, considering that neither the Department of Health nor the Health Service Executive appear to have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
While there has been an effort towards more community and non invasive care, the number of people waiting for this type of treatment continues to rise. According to the HSE’s own figures, some patients have to wait up to nine months for primary care counselling or therapy.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the reason for this is a question of economics, with health service managers juggling figures in order to meet budget targets.
This is at a time when less than a quarter of the 251 mental health posts approved for last year have been filled.
According the advocacy group, Mental Health Reform, spending on staff in the mental health area has been delayed each year to shore up the health budget.
The organisation says spending between 2012 and 2014 was not as much as had been allocated, with the shortfall in expenditure mainly due to delays recruiting staff in each of those years.
It is no wonder, therefore, that the figures we reveal today show a rise in mental health prescriptions in recent years.
The danger is that this will increase from generation to generation.A recent study suggests that more than half young Irish people will suffer a form of mental health disorder before the age of 25.
At the end of last year there were more than 3,000 children and teenagers waiting to access mental health services in the community.
The Government’s mental health strategy, ‘A Vision for Change’, recommended a particular focus on multi- disciplinary community based care but little has been done to put this into effect.
Mental illness is not confined to those directly affected. It devastates individuals, their families, friends and the wider community.
What is needed now is action and not just pious words.
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