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MSP condemns over-reliance on anti-depressants |
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Thursday, 27 March 2008 |
Alternatives to anti-depressants must be sought to ensure Scotland isn’t turned into a “Prozac nation”, Liberal Democrat public health spokesperson Jamie Stone urged today.
Speaking after an answer to his parliamentary question revealed that the number of Prozac prescriptions in Scotland has almost doubled in the past ten years, Stone said:
“This is an astonishing jump in Prozac prescriptions. The Health Secretary needs to consider if all these patients need Prozac, or if alternative treatments would be more appropriate.”
He suggested that alternatives such as counselling and exercise have been proven to be effective treatments for mild depressions, but added that if doctors don’t have the time and resources to give advice they may have to resort to “reaching for the prescription pad”.
He continued: “The Health Secretary must ensure that in Scotland, at least, anti-depressants are not allowed to become a ‘quick fix’ for depression.
“I want to see the examination of viable alternatives to anti-depressants, which help people through rough periods in their lives without relying on tablets. We must not allow Scotland to turn into a Prozac nation.”
You can view the parliamentary question and answer here.
One person has commented on this article. 1. MSP condemns over-reliance on anti-depressants
Anonymous, Unregistered With respect, perhaps Mr Stone did not ask the right question. Prozac is also indicated for obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, chronic fatigue syndrome and panic disorder. Other anti-depressants are also indicated for chronic or neuropathic pain, for example.
In other words, just because someone is taking an anti-depressant, does not mean they are suffering from depression. Mr Stone ought, perhaps, to have asked how many patients were diagnosed with, and treated pharmacologically for, depressive disorders.
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