Figures show extent of prescribing to children

Information obtained by the U.K. Conservative Party under freedom-of-information legislation has revealed the extent of drug prescribing to children for mental-health conditions. They found that in 2007 420,000 prescriptions were issued for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) medication - equivalent to around 35,000 children once repeat prescriptions are taken into account - up by a third since 2005. More than 113,000 prescriptions were written for antidepressants for children under 16 (equivalent to about 9,000 children) and 86,000 prescriptions were written for antipsychotics, a 7% rise since 2005.

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