Soaring numbers of children are being given drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Scotland, with new figures revealing a 20% increase in prescriptions last year.

Soaring numbers of children are being given drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Scotland, with new figures revealing a 20% increase in prescriptions last year.

Treatment with pills such as Ritalin has been climbing for more than a decade but figures released yesterday showed a sharper rise in 2006-07.

The official report estimated 4939 are taking pills for ADHD daily, up from 387 in 1995-96.

The bill for the drugs has climbed from £1.89m to £2.5m in the past decade - in part because of the introduction of better but more costly drugs.

Jamie Stone, LibDem public health spokesman, said the surge in prescriptions for ADHD was "staggering" and called on health secretary Nicola Sturgeon to investigate.

Mr Stone said: "It is imperative that the government liaise with health professionals to ascertain that alternative treatments are not being sidelined in favour of the easy option."

Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon also raised concern. She said: "We urgently need to find out the underlying cause - is it a rise in the condition or better diagnosis?

"Only by fully understanding the issue can the best long-term solutions be found."

Children living in some health board areas are more likely to be given the drugs than those living in others, according to the report, issued by NHS Scotland. Prescribing rates are highest in Fife and lowest in the Western Isles.

Minister for public health, Shona Robison, said: "The NHS regulatory body NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is undertaking audit work which includes identifying variations in prescribing of Ritalin and associated products between boards."

She said the audit would check if staff were meeting guidelines for giving patients other support.

Ms Robison added that the increase was partly due to greater awareness of ADHD and the cumulative effect of maintaining treatment over several years.