New figures from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) reveal that prescriptions for mental health medications in England have reached unprecedented levels.
The latest Medicines Used in Mental Health report for 2024/25 highlights substantial increases in the use of antidepressants, ADHD treatments, and dementia drugs.
Analyzing prescribing trends from April 2015 through March 2025, the report states that nearly 92.6 million antidepressant prescriptions were dispensed to approximately 8.9 million patients during 2024/25.
This reflects a 3.94% increase compared to the previous year. Notably, prescribing rates were significantly higher in more socioeconomically deprived regions across four out of five major drug categories.
ADHD medication prescriptions saw a marked rise, with a 24.3% increase among adults and a 9.5% increase among children. Overall, 3.38 million items were prescribed to around 326,000 patients. Similarly, dementia-related drug prescriptions reached a record 4.79 million items issued to 326,000 patients.
Antipsychotic medications were prescribed 13.9 million times to 873,000 patients, with women receiving these treatments more frequently than men in most age groups.
The report also highlights a dramatic 97% reduction in barbiturate prescribing since 2015/16 and ongoing gender disparities in the use of hypnotics and anxiolytics.
These findings offer critical insight into a decade of evolving prescribing practices, underlining the persistent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and its treatment across England.
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