NHS accused of ‘creating drug addicts’

An investigation by BBC News has found that nearly 24 million opioids were prescribed in 2017, fuelling what has been described as a system ‘creating drug addicts’.

Although the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said doctors would not prescribe opioid painkillers as a ‘quick fix’, the investigation found that over two million working age people in England are estimated to have taken a prescription painkiller that was not prescribed for them in 2016-17, with GPs prescribing 23.8 million opioid-based painkillers in 2017, the equivalent of 2,700 items every hour.

This represents 10 million more prescriptions than ten years ago, with the prescribing rate of opioid painkillers in parts of northern England four times higher than in London.

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the RCGP, said: “GPs take prescribing any medication incredibly seriously – they will never prescribe simply as a ‘quick fix’ solution. Opioids can be very effective painkillers for new onset or longer term conditions. However, for patients living with chronic pain they do have associated risks – including addiction - and GPs will discuss these with patients before jointly making the decision to prescribe them. GPs will also monitor patients to ensure that the treatment is proving beneficial.”