News

North-South divide in opioid and painkiller prescribing with high use in England’s most deprived areas | UK News


Sky News research has revealed a North-South divide over prescribing high-dose opioids and other pain relievers.

The findings are being described as a “time bomb” on potential addiction problems.

In the North East, there are more than three times the number of regulations per capita than in London, according to collated data from Open Prescription.

For example, a practice in Durham with 18,000 patients prescribing more than 1.2 million milligrams of opioids per month, (equivalent to 42,000 strong pills).

The average UK practice of the same size will prescribe around 480,000 milligrams per month (about 16,000 strong tablets).

The region’s top pharmacist told Sky News: “We all have to re-educate ourselves” about the potential harms of overprescribing.

Opium is also prescribed to people in the most deprived areas of the country, almost twice as often as those in the most affluent regions.

Social workers and other experts say GPs are creating customers for the growing black market for prescription drugs and a lack of services to help their addicts quit.

While opioid use has declined slightly in recent years – prescriptions for other pain relievers like pregabalin are on the rise.

‘I don’t know how I’m alive’

Justine Pic: Jason Farrell
Picture:
Justine Grant beat heroin addiction and stayed clean for 12 years, but said the drug her doctor then prescribed for pain was an even bigger challenge

Patients told Sky News they struggled to overcome their addiction and often turned to illegal dealers to buy drugs.

Justine Grant, from Sacriston, near Durham, has been addicted to heroin and has been free of the disease for 12 years, but said the drug her doctor then prescribed for pain was an even bigger challenge.

She said, “I was told I needed something like ibuprofen but maybe a little stronger, and that’s when they prescribed us Pregabalin. It’s very, very addictive. More addictive than anything. I’ve been drinking in my life.”

“I was instantly addicted to one of those things a day, then two, then three, then four. Until I drank ten a day. I don’t know how I’m going to live.”

Justine increased her prescription using drug dealers, taking 3,000 mg of the drug a day, costing her £25.

What is Pregabalin?

Pregabalin works on nerve pain by affecting the messages that travel through the brain and down the spine.

Frank’s drug information page says it induces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calm; and may increase the effects of other medicines.

Pregabalin and opioids taken together can cause people to stop breathing.

The NHS recommends not stopping the medication suddenly as withdrawal can cause anxiety, insomnia, nausea, pain and sweating.

Officials drafting prescribing guidelines at NICE have deemed it a Class C drug and warned GPs to watch out for signs of dependence and abuse.

She added: “Everybody gets them. Doctors think they’re the new miracle drug and they can’t see the problems they’re causing.”

Advice published by NHS England eight years ago warned doctors that the drug “can lead to dependence and can be abused or diverted”.

It also says that drugs are used as a “commodity for trade” in prisons.

‘What will my little daughter do if I don’t wake up?’

Photo: Jason Farrell
Picture:
When Cheryl Parker became addicted to codeine, she was prescribed 100 pills every three days and was constantly in fear of an overdose.

Cheryl Parker, also from Durham, became addicted to codeine after giving birth with complications. Before long, she was prescribed 100 pills every three days. She often fears about overdose, but gets sick if she tries to withdraw.

She said: “My God, I used to be sick. I used to be sick, couldn’t walk, kept going to the toilet, mentally exhausted. I used to have to inhale at the head of my bed every night. . I used to panic. What would I do if I didn’t wake up? My little daughter was there, what would she do?'”

Justine and Cheryl are both home to Positive Guidance, helping to support vulnerable people.

Beverly Crooks, one of its support staff, says there is little help available to people with mental health and addiction problems.

“Over the past year, there’s been a lot of drug suicides and people don’t get help. People are really depressed, can’t get any help from anywhere, okay,” she said. announced that no one could come see them because there weren’t enough staff.”

Positive Directions director, Gary Crooks, told Sky News: “It’s an absolutely huge deal and a ticking time bomb that’s been smoldering in the ground for a long time.”

“On the front lines, what we’ve encountered is an explosion of drugs being prescribed from GPs, and certainly on the black market.

“A lot of people have been accessing drugs from the dark web and buying prescriptions that way, at a really big discount, and selling them on the street.

“They are extremely addictive and often the problem is that they are prescribed by medical professionals and so people who are taking prescriptions do not realize how addictive these substances are.”

‘Primary care is overwhelmed’

Ewan Maule, chief pharmacist for North East and Northern Cumbria, says there is a link between poverty, especially in declining industrial areas like the Northeast, and chronic pain and this leads to overuse more opioid use in certain regions.

However, he says the medical understanding of the risks of opioids has evolved and NHS professionals need to take note.

“The conversation is changing and we’re starting to talk about non-drug, non-drug treatments for chronic pain, because we know the harm that opioids can do,” he said. out in the long run, outweigh the benefits.

“We all need to re-educate ourselves. People like me, who were educated 20 years ago, need to change the way we think about things.”

Health scholars in the region agree, and a program is underway in the Northeast to use a database of GPs to contact people who are taking high doses of opioids to offer help. .

Professor Julia Newton, from Newcastle Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We need to take note that we are an outlier in this area and start looking at why that might be.

“Right now, primary care is so overwhelming, time is precious in brief GP consultations. And I think sometimes it can be easier when a patient wants a tablet, to general practitioner prescribes or continues to prescribe medication.”

Supplying heroin at the rehab center

While getting stuck is easy, finding help to get out can be a struggle. Addicts tell us that the main rehab center in Durham, known as the County Durham Substance Abuse Service – Change Center, often has external and sometimes internal agents.

One recovering addict said it was a better place to “go for a cigarette” than a detox.

When Sky News visited, a social worker on our team was taken in by a client from a heroin supply.

Humankind, which runs the centre, said it takes any reports of drug use and trafficking in its center “extremely seriously” and that it has “strong, well-informed policies” Public communication prohibits these acts”.

It added: “Anyone found to be trafficking, sharing or using drugs on the Humankind site will be challenged and reported to the police, and any claims of drug trafficking are thoroughly investigated. .”

When it comes to the government upgrade program, this is clearly another area that needs attention. Communities that have seen industrial decline and increased poverty have also added addiction to their list of problems.

Former addict Justine said: “How are they going to break the cycle? No job, no help, no future, no dreams.”

And it seems that medicine is no substitute for investment, jobs and services.

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button