Mental health medicine use in England reaches record high, NHSBSA report reveals
Ella Day | July 29, 2025 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development |Â Â ADHD, COVID-19, NHS Business Services Authority, Psychiatry, antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, barbiturate, dementia, hypnotics, mental healthÂ
According to new data published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), mental health prescriptions in England have reached their highest level on record. The annual Medicines Used in Mental Health report for 2024/25 shows significant increases across several categories of drugs used to treat mental health conditions. These include antidepressants, ADHD medications and drugs for dementia.
The report, which examines prescribing data in England from April 2015 to March 2025, reveals that 92.6 million antidepressant items were prescribed to nearly 8.9 million patients in 2024/25 – marking a 3.94% rise from the previous year. Prescribing levels were disproportionately higher in more deprived areas across four of the five key drug categories.
Prescriptions for central nervous system stimulants and ADHD medications rose sharply, with a 24.3% increase among adults and a 9.5% increase among children. In total, 3.38 million items were prescribed to 326,000 patients.
Drugs for dementia also hit a record high, with 4.79 million items issued to 326,000 patients. Meanwhile, 13.9 million antipsychotic items were prescribed to 873,000 patients, with more women than men receiving these medications in most age groups.
Other findings include a marked 97% drop in barbiturate prescribing since 2015/16, and continued gender disparities, particularly in prescribing of hypnotics and anxiolytics.
The report provides insight into how prescribing practices have evolved over the past decade and highlights the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health problems and treatment.
Ella Day
29/7/25
This article featured in: August 2025 – The Pharmafile Brief
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