NHS cuts opioid prescriptions by 500,000 after campaign to reduce drug use

The NHS has cut annual opioid prescriptions by almost half a million following a campaign to tackle drug use.

Opioid prescriptions fell from 5.68 million to 5.23 million between 2019/20 and the year to November 2022, according to NHS England figures.

GPs and pharmacists also reduced prescriptions for benzodiazepines by 170,000 from 1.25 million to 1.08 million, while prescriptions for sleeping pills fell by almost 93,000 – from 906,164 to 813,285.

Worryingly, however, the use of antidepressants continues to rise: almost 8.5 million were distributed last year – up from 7.8 million in 2020.

In a victory for the Daily Mail, the NHS is launching a plan to further reduce the inappropriate prescription of painkillers and other addictive drugs.

Opioid prescriptions fell from 5.68 million to 5.23 million between 2019/20 and the year to November 2022, according to NHS England figures

The new guidelines are intended to support GPs and pharmacists to offer patients regular, personalized assessments of their medicines.

This prompts them to work with patients to see if a change in treatment was appropriate, such as B. discontinuation of medication.

But activists have warned that it is likely to take “months or maybe years” for new services to be implemented, and have repeatedly called for a 24-hour national hotline.

This is the only way “lives can be saved, suffering reduced and unnecessary costs to the public exchequer reduced,” it said.

The Mail has been campaigning for greater recognition of the prescription drug addiction crisis since March 2017.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis of NHS England said: “We know that patients who need prescriptions for potentially addictive medicines can become dependent and struggle with withdrawal symptoms and this action plan will help NHS services to continue their positive work in this area. “