Tatton MP Esther McVey has met with government Health Minister Stephen Kinnock to look at ways patients can be better informed of potential severe withdrawal symptoms when stopping certain anti-depressants.
She previously led a debate on mental health in young people, highlighting the case of her constituent Olivia Russell who took her own life aged 25 after suffering horrendous side effects after stopping Citalopram – a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI).
Olivia’s family want patients given more information about how significant withdrawal could be, starting with warnings on packaging – something Ms McVey fully supports. She has now met with the Health Minister to discuss what more can be done to safeguard patients.
Ms McVey said: “We owe it to Olivia’s family and other families who have suffered to get this right. Changing packaging will not take away from GP advice, nor replace patient information leaflets but act as another layer of safeguarding. I would welcome this simple change as patients may not fully take in what the doctor is saying, or read the leaflet in detail but at the very least, it would ensure this warning was seen every time that box is picked up.
“It was a very constructive meeting, and we will meet again in the coming weeks and months. There is now an expert working group being set up to look at the issue, to see what else can be done in addition to package labelling, and it has my full backing.”
The Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that between one third and one half of people who take anti-depressant medications will experience some form of withdrawal, albeit in varying degrees.
Olivia was prescribed Citalopram in November 2020 for anxiety but in June 2021 she began stopping the medication. She suffered extreme withdrawal symptoms which led to her taking her own life in September 2021.