Prescription drugs for mental health issues (FOI)

​Request

A

Please advise what percentage of Islanders are taking prescription drugs for mental health issues and Neurodiverse conditions and how has this changed over the past five years?

Response

Customer and Local Services response

While data is held on the volume of medicine dispensed as Pharmaceutical Benefit funded by the Health Insurance Fund, data is not held on the conditions these medicines were prescribed to treat or the number of people in receipt of these medicines. 

Therefore, in response to parts A and B, the information is not held.

Health and Community Services response

No central record is available to report the number of people prescribed medication to treat mental health and / or neurodiverse conditions by Health and Community Services (HCS). Diagnosis / indication for treatment is not detailed against prescription data. Therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.​

Many of the medicines used in the treatment of mental health and / or neurodiverse conditions are also used for other indications.

Information and annual figures for prescriptions dispensed by HCS’ Pharmacy and those dispensed by community pharmacies under the Health Insurance Fund for specified medications, including those that may be used in the treatment of mental health or neurodiverse conditions (as well as other conditions), has been provided in response to the Freedom of Information request below:-

Prescription drugs for mental health conditions in Jersey (FOI)​​

​Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.​