Hundreds of schoolchildren are being given antidepressants every year in Tayside and Fife, it has emerged.
Prescriptions for under-21s with mental health problems and other issues have nearly doubled in Tayside since 2009, while those in Fife have gone up by 75%.
Doctors wrote out antidepressant prescriptions for more than 4,000 children and young people in those health areas last year, with 631 of them still of school age.
The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures from the SNP Government, said the surge is “deeply concerning”.
“I am especially alarmed at the rise in the number of children taking antidepressants,” said the party’s mental health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP.
“While we have always said that there is a role for medication in treating mild-to-moderate depression, we want to see a new focus on the provision of social prescribing and swift access to talking therapies, with antidepressant medication as a last resort.”
“The Scottish Government must also ensure that the NHS has the systems in place to support our young people to come off antidepressants and not just park them on pills as a long term solution.”
In 2015, there were 119 children aged 14 or under being treated with antidepressants in Tayside, compared with 57 in Fife.
Across Scotland, 23,974 under-21s were prescribed the drugs in 2015, up from 20,969 in 2014.
An NHS Fife spokesman said the prescription of antidepressant drugs is “one of a range of options available to clinicians”.
“In line with other health boards, NHS Fife has experienced a rise in the number of prescriptions for antidepressant drugs in recent years,” he said.
“This reflects a number of factors, most crucially an increasing awareness of mental health issues, and the growing knowledge that depression is a condition that can be treated.”
Antidepressant drugs are used to treat conditions such as chronic pain or bed-wetting, as well as mental health conditions, the spokesman added.
A Scottish Government spokesman said they are working on a 10-year mental health strategy, which includes a strong focus on prevention and early intervention, as well as treatment.
“We have seen more people being prescribed antidepressants as a result of better identification of those requiring treatment, better diagnosis and a reduction in stigma attached to mental health,” he said.
“In addition waiting times have decreased significantly despite a rise in the number of people seeking help.
“While we ensure those who need medication continue to receive it, we are also committed to improving access to psychological therapies that increase choice and best-accommodate patient preference.”
Statistics published earlier this year showed that, overall, antidepressants were dispensed to 814,181 patients in 2014/15 – an increase of more than a quarter since 2009/10.
gmcpherson@thecourier.co.uk