A LACK of access to psychological assessment and treatment has been blamed for soaring levels of prescriptions being handed out by doctors.

Former psychiatrist Dr Richard Simpson said delays in securing specialist help to patients made it more likely medication would be used, but said it was simplistic to criticise doctors for over-prescribing.

It comes as figures showed rising number of patients were being prescribed anti-depressants and drugs to combat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

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Around 6.1 million antidepressants were prescribed this year, a rise of 600,000 in two years, at a cost of £44 million, according to official statistics from ISC Scotland.

ADHD treatments such as Ritalin, the vast majority prescribed to children, has also risen from 105,000 items prescribed in 2013-15 to 112,000 last year and 123,222 this year.

But Dr Richard Simpson said that hyperactive children and adults with mental health problems may need more medication rather than less and to be using prescriptions for longer.

And he claimed many Scots suffered lengthy waits for psychological services which could be accessed more quickly in England.

Rocketing prescriptions for anti-depressants are a sign that the Scottish Government had failed, the Scottish Conservatives said.

They said the figures are run counter to an SNP pledge to cut the increase in prescriptions to zero in 2007, and then to further cut prescribing by 10 per cent. The pledge was later abandoned.

The party's mental health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “There will always be a place for medication such as this to treat depression.

“But we’re seeing increasing numbers of people put on these pills, and many are concerned there isn’t a proper strategy for getting them off the medication again.

“I know the Scottish Government is serious about mental illness, and rightly so. But there has to be an explanation for why, in 2007, it said the rate of antidepressant prescriptions was going to decrease, yet precisely the opposite has happened."

He called for a determined effort to offer a range of options to depressed patients and more "social prescribing" with antidepressants only used as a last resort.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Donald Cameron had earlier described the ADHD prescription figures as alarming, saying "Drugs for those so young should only ever be used as a a last resort."

But Dr Simpson, a former Labour MSP, said such arguments were simplistic and called for a review of variation in prescribing levels across the country.

"One of the big problems is that many GPs were not prescribing in sufficient quantities or for sufficient lengths of time," he said. "Healthcare Improvement Scotland should be inspecting to see what the reasons are for these increases."

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A key problem is a lack of swift access to psychological treatments, he said. "Adults in England and Wales benefit from a rapid access scheme while in Scotland there are still long long waits for psychological assessment, far less treatment.

"If it is hard to access other treatment, GPs will prescribe drugs more. But they are under pressure to reduce prescribing costs so one of the things we know is that they often prescribe for too short a time to be effective."

ADHD in children should be picked up as early as possible, he said, so schooling is not disrupted, however he said a shortage of educational psychologists was making that difficult. Dr Simpson added: "In England the average waiting time for assessment and treatment is seven weeks, whereas here it is still 18 weeks for a Child and Adolescent Mental Health referral. It is a big problem."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said waiting lists had decreased despite more people seeking help.

Reducing stigma was one reason more people were coming forward for treatment, she added: “Mental Health is an absolute priority for this government, demonstrated by the fact that we have committed an additional £150 million to improve mental health services over five years. Scotland was also the first country in the UK to have a dedicated minister for mental health.

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“We have seen an increase in demand for mental health services through better identification of those requiring treatment, better diagnosis and more people being prepared to come forward. In addition waiting times have decreased significantly despite a rise in the number of people seeking help."

“Our forthcoming Mental Health Strategy will set out our 10 year vision for transforming mental health in Scotland."