The rise in the number of people being referred for depression – particularly during lockdown – could be directly linked to a reduced number of GPs, the College of Medicine’s Chair has said.

Depression rates continue to rise in the UK, with data from NHS Digital, published in The Lancet, showing that 70.9 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were written in England in 2018, almost double the figure prescribed in 2008.

Dr Michael Dixon, who has spent decades working as a general practitioner in Devon, told the Independent in an article about increases in depression caused by lockdowns since March 2019, that a GP who has the time to engage properly with patients can reduce their chance of needing to be referred on.

READ MORE

• “I’ve given daily Zoom exercise classes since March” Physio Sarah Bazin on keeping people fit during lockdown
• What do College members aspire for in healthcare in 2021?
• Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green: Covid-19 has had a damaging effect on children – but there is an opportunity to ‘re-set’

He said: “A GP with time and who knows their patients well can probably obviate up to a half of referrals elsewhere using their holistic therapeutic skills.

“The discrepancy between an increasing incidence of depression and a reducing GP workforce makes this increasingly less possible and reflects years of neglect of our generalist role.”

In early January, the Guardian published results of an investigation that found anti-depressants had been prescribed to more than six million people in June, July and August last year, the highest numbers on record for a three-month period.

Deputy campaigns director at mental health charity Rethink, Lucy Schonegevel, told the newspaper that there was a “big risk of anti-depressants being prescribed with no support”, saying that pills should go ‘hand in hand’ with therapy.

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ARTICLES ON MENTAL HEALTH AND COVID-19:

• How to keep mental health strong during the coronavirus crisis
• Ruby Wax: ‘We’re allowed to exercise our bodies but what to do with our minds? As always, there’s no instruction manual’
• NHS produces mental health advice for healthcare workers
• Audioseries: Professor Paul Gilbert on how to use compassion