Citalopram prescribing across the NHS.
Citalopram was the default SSRI until sertraline took the crown: 12.8m items a year now, drifting slowly down. The 2011 warning over heart-rhythm effects at higher doses started the slide; sertraline's rise finished it. Legacy volume this large takes decades to unwind.
The NHS in England dispensed 12,736,210 prescription items of Citalopram in the 12 months to July 2026, across primary care and hospitals.
Spending on Citalopram over those 12 months was £10.3m at net ingredient cost, the list price of what was dispensed before any discounts.
Items were down 2.6% on the previous 12 months.
99% of Citalopram volume moved through primary care and 1% through hospital pharmacies.
Citalopram ranks #2 of 7 chemical substances in Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (BNF 4.3.3), by items dispensed.
Among Integrated Care Boards, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB dispensed the highest volume of Citalopram.
Source: NHS Business Services Authority open data (English Prescribing Data and SCMD), OGL v3.0. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated.
Diamond markers show events around this period: NICE decisions, safety alerts, supply notices, Drug Tariff moves and price concessions, new suppliers in dm+d and framework awards. Hover a marker for the date and type. The evidence behind each one, with the source quote and link, sits behind Apply.
| Month | Items | Spend (NIC) |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 1,101,217 | £1.1m |
| June 2026 | 1,063,407 | £784k |
| May 2026 | 1,023,766 | £748k |
| April 2026 | 1,047,414 | £758k |
| March 2026 | 1,072,950 | £727k |
| February 2026 | 986,403 | £660k |
| January 2026 | 1,078,989 | £1.0m |
| December 2025 | 1,119,180 | £1.5m |
| November 2025 | 1,018,841 | £704k |
| October 2025 | 1,108,813 | £758k |
| September 2025 | 1,081,147 | £771k |
| August 2025 | 1,034,083 | £736k |
The same series as the chart, most recent month first. The full monthly history, as CSV, sits behind Apply.
24.9% of its class.
Citalopram ranks #2 of 7 chemical substances in Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (BNF 4.3.3), by items dispensed in July 2026. The full class league, who's gaining, and the month-by-month share movement sit behind Apply.
Average items by calendar month across the full history, indexed to the annual mean.
23 suppliers hold a live citalopram listing, across 74 packs.
A A H Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Accord-UK Ltd, Advanz Pharma, Alliance Healthcare (Distribution) Ltd, Almus Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Amarox Ltd, Bristol Laboratories Ltd, Clydesdale Pharma Ltd, Crescent Pharma Ltd, Flamingo Pharma (UK) Ltd, Lundbeck Ltd, Medihealth (Northern) Ltd, Medreich Plc, Milpharm Ltd, Noumed Life Sciences Ltd, Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd, Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc, Sovereign Medical Ltd, Special Order, Strides Pharma UK Ltd, Sun Pharma UK Ltd, SyriMed, Teva UK Ltd. Every pack, its GTIN and published list price, and each week's changes are in the full report.
A listing in the NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices means a product may be supplied. It says nothing about sales or market share, and the list price is the reimbursement price, not what any buyer pays. Contains information from dm+d 10.1.0, published by the NHS Business Services Authority under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
1,412,896 people in England had at least one citalopram item prescribed in primary care in 2025/26, 9.1 items each. Source: NHSBSA Medicines Used in Mental Health, England, official statistics, OGL v3.0. Identified patients only.
Citalopram across all 36 ICBs.
Every Integrated Care Board in England, shaded by how much citalopram its GPs dispense per head of population. Hover an ICB to name it. The ranked figures for all 36 ICBs, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Darker shading marks where Citalopram is dispensed most per head of population. Exact figures for every ICB, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Zoomed out to the 7 NHS regions.
The same 12 months rolled up to NHS England's seven regions, ranked by intensity.
The teaser view.
Three rows each. The full 36-ICB view, every prescribing organisation, every strength and the hospital picture sit below the fold, behind Apply.
- 1 NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB 850k
- 2 NHS Central East ICB 741k
- 3 NHS Greater Manchester ICB 629k
- – + 33 more. See the full 36-ICB table. See all →
- 1 NHS North East London ICB -1.1%
- 2 NHS Essex ICB -1.4%
- 3 NHS West and North London ICB -1.4%
- – + 33 more. See every ICB, ranked. See all →
- 1 Citalopram 20mg tablets 57%
- 2 Citalopram 10mg tablets 29%
- 3 Citalopram 40mg tablets 13%
- – + 3 more. See every strength and pack. See all →
Split of items across NHSBSA primary care and SCMD hospital dispensing.
Prescribing by deprivation.
Items per 1,000 registered patients by deprivation decile (1 = most deprived), practice deprivation weighted by where each practice's patients live. Read the shape rather than the absolute level: the most and least deprived deciles cover far fewer practices, and age structure drives much of the gradient.
The devolved nations.
| Nation | Items · 12 months | Data to |
|---|---|---|
| England | 12.7m | July 2026 |
| Scotland | 922k | June 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | 492k | May 2026 |
| Wales | 1.1m | April 2026 |
Each nation publishes its own community prescribing data, with different coding and list rules, so read these per-nation rather than as an exact UK total. Sources: NHSBSA (England), Public Health Scotland, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, OpenDataNI. Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What open data won't tell you about citalopram.
Antidepressant items say nothing about severity, duration or whether anyone reviewed the repeat. The public debate about all three happens outside this dataset.
Asked and answered.
Is citalopram prescribing rising or falling in the NHS?
Falling. England dispensed 12,736,210 items of Citalopram in the 12 months to July 2026, down 2.6% on the previous 12 months. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated, so the change can reflect dose and duration shifts as well as patient numbers.
How much does the NHS spend on citalopram?
£10.3m at net ingredient cost in the 12 months to July 2026. Net ingredient cost is the list price of the medicine before discounts and rebates; the NHS's final bill, especially for hospital medicines, is usually lower.
Where in England is citalopram prescribed most?
By raw volume, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB dispensed the most citalopram in the last 12 months. Raw volume favours the biggest populations; the map on this page shades every ICB by items per head to correct for that.
How up to date is this data?
This page runs to July 2026, the most recent NHSBSA release. Prescribing data publishes roughly six to eight weeks in arrears, and DoseTrend refreshes within 48 hours of each monthly release.
The full breakdown.
Every ICB, every prescribing organisation, every strength, the hospital view with what trusts paid and who holds each framework line, Signals with their sources, and the monthly briefing PDF. The rows below are placeholders; the real tables sit behind the application.
Related pages.
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