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© dailymail.co.ukIncrease: For every person an average of 17.8 prescription items were dispensed, compared to just 11.2 ten years ago.
  • 927million prescriptions given out last year alone
  • Average 17.8 prescriptions for every person in England
  • Cost to NHS estimated at £9BILLION every 12 months
More prescription drugs than ever are being given out, with the annual bill soaring to nearly £9billion.

The amount of medicine dispensed has jumped almost 70 per cent over the last decade.

Last night fears were expressed that doctors were taking the easy way out when reaching for the prescription pad instead of considering other treatments.

There were also concerns about the huge amount of medicine which is simply wasted by patients.

But experts denied that Britain is over-dependent on drugs, saying an ageing population and more emphasis on preventing disease inevitably pushes up prescribing rates.

According to the figures from the NHS Information Center, diabetes is the most costly condition, accounting for £713million in England last year.

There has been a surge of 75 per cent in four years in type 2 diabetes, which is caused by obesity and lack of exercise.

Doctors prescribe insulin to treat it, but recent research has suggested that the disease can go into remission with exercise and dieting.

The highest number of drugs dispensed last year was for heart conditions, closely followed by painkillers and cholesterol-busting drugs including statins.

More than 7 million in Britain currently rely on statins, a 350 per cent increase on the 2 million users a mere four years ago. It means one in three over-45s take the cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Antidepressants are also on the rise, despite efforts to prescribe talking therapies rather than drugs.

Last year the NHS wrote 41 million prescriptions for anti-depressants, almost 23 million of which were for drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat - a 43 per cent jump in four years - while there were only 600,000 referrals for therapy.

Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association said doctors may be issuing too many prescriptions. She said:
'If patients are getting access to more of the medicines they need, in particular more specifically tailored medicines, we would welcome this trend.

'However, we are concerned that with consultation times being so short, rather than being able to tackle the problems patients have, doctors may be simply prescribing medicines.

'More appropriate treatments may be available, such as physiotherapy or counseling, and doctors should only prescribe medicines when they are needed.' Mike Holden, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said that too often drugs were not actually helping patients.

'There is a huge amount of waste,' he said. 'Up to half of all medicines for long-term conditions are not taken as intended by the prescriber.

'There is no doubt that much more value for patients and the taxpayer could be extracted from this massive investment by supporting more effective medicines use.

'After all, the least cost-effective medicine is one that is used improperly or not at all.'
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© dailymail.co.ukPrice of drugs
The NHS figures relate to prescriptions made up by community pharmacists and not in hospitals.

In 2010, 927 million prescription items were dispensed in England, up 4.6 per cent on 2009 and 68 per cent on 2000.

For every person in England, an average of 17.8 prescription items were dispensed in the year, compared with 17.1 in 2009 and 11.2 in 2000.

The average cost per head was £169 in 2010, compared with £165 in 2009 and £113 in 2000.

A spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said the data showed NHS medicines now provided better value for money and had improved patients' lives.

He said:
'The rise in prescriptions dispensed in the community in recent years is the result of an ageing population that require more medicines.

'Older people already account for around two-thirds of the treatments prescribed.

'A population that is living longer will mean a disproportionate increase in the demand for medicines.

'Prescription medicines for older people in the community have made a huge impact on quality of life and have made treatment at home, rather than in hospital, much more common, which is a better outcome for the patient and presents savings to the NHS.'
Simon O'Neill of Diabetes UK said:
'The long-term costs of poor diabetes management, namely caring for someone who's had a heart attack or stroke, lost their sight or lower limb, far outweigh those of the drugs which help prevent such devastating complications.'
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said:
'The big rise in prescribing largely reflects the impact of a growing and ageing population, as well as an increase in the prescribing of preventive medicines, such as low-cost statins.

'We are increasing investment in the NHS by £12.5billion, but it needs to be smarter with its resources. That is why we are continuing to encourage the prescribing of preventive medicine.'