MORE than £18 million pounds was spent on anti-depressants in Northern Ireland last year, a £7 million increase on the previous year.
Health officials said price increases among some of the most commonly used anti-depressant drugs had led to a "significant impact" on costs.
The amount spent on such medication, which can be used to treat a range of conditions including depression and anxiety, has increased year-on-year in Northern Ireland since 2017 when £10,878,085 was spent.
Dr Laurence Dorman from the Royal College of GPs said the Covid-19 pandemic had caused a "tsunami of mental health issues which GPs are witnessing and managing in communities across Northern Ireland.
"Unfortunately, prescribing medication is only part of the solution when managing mental health needs," he said.
"Ideally, for depression and other mental health conditions, GPs would have a wide range of treatment options available to them, such as counselling.
"Unfortunately, for too long these services have not been timely or easily accessible."
Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI, said reduced supply and higher prices meant the Department of Health had to "revise the prices it paid to pharmacies and this has contributed, in part, to the increased anti-depressant expenditure that has been reported in Northern Ireland".
Professor Siobhan O’Neill, Interim Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland, said anti-depressants can be a "very useful treatment for depression, however they should be taken under the supervision of a doctor, and should usually be accompanied by the option of non-pharmacological treatments such as counselling or psychological therapy.
"I am concerned that many people in Northern Ireland who express a preference for a talking therapy, do not have the option of having psychological therapy or counselling due to long waiting times, or poor availability of services locally," she said.
