MORECAMBE Bay has seen a rise in the number of antidepressants prescribed by doctors over the last two years, according to new figures.

Leading mental health charity Mind has suggested an increase in the number of prescriptions across England could be a sign of worsening mental health across the country.

Figures from the Open Prescribing Service show 568,531 prescriptions for antidepressants were given out in the NHS Morecambe Bay CCG area in the year to March – a monthly average of 134.5 prescriptions per 1,000 patients.

This was an increase of three per cent from the year before, when an average of 130.7 were given per 1000 patients, and an increase of six per cent from 2019-20.

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed to improve mental health but may also be taken for conditions not directly related to this – such as certain types of long-term pain.

However, the story is similar for "selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors", the most commonly prescribed antidepressants for mental health conditions in England.

These are thought to increase the level of serotonin in the brain, and are often used to treat depression and anxiety.

SSRI prescriptions increased from a monthly average of 68.3 per 1,000 patients in Morecambe Bay in the year to March 2020 to 72.4 in 2022 – a rise of six per cent.

In Morecambe Bay, SSRIs were prescribed 306,024 times last year – equating to 25,502 a month.