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News Article
The UK is becoming “the sick person of the wealthy world” because of the growing number of people dying from drugs, suicide and violence, research has found. Death rates among under-50s in the UK have got worse in recent years compared with many other rich countries, an international study shows. While mortality from cancer and heart disease has decreased, the number of deaths from injuries, accidents and poisonings has gone up, and got much worse for use of illicit drugs. The trends mean Britain is increasingly out of step with other well-off nations, most of which have had improvements in the numbers of people dying from such causes. The increase in drug-related deaths has been so dramatic that the rate of them occuring in the UK was three times higher in 2019 – among both sexes – than the median of 21 other countries studied. The findings are contained in a report by the Health Foundation thinktank, based on an in-depth study of health and death patterns in the 22 nations by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). “The UK’s health is fraying,” they concluded. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 May 2025- Posted
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People who have both substance misuse problems and mental health disorders are being overlooked by the NHS, leading to avoidable harm and even suicides, say experts. Better coordination between services, monitoring of outcomes, and training for clinicians on how to treat the conditions simultaneously are needed to tackle this problem, said the authors of a report1 on co-occurring substance misuse and mental health (CoSUM) disorders. The report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists says people with CoSUM disorders experience poorer health, worse engagement with work, and higher mortality and rates of suicide than people who have either a mental illness or a substance misuse disorder. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 13 May 2025- Posted
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NHS ‘should give councils more grief’ on health
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The 10-Year Plan’s focus on the NHS risks sidelining the need for more effective action by national and local government on prevention, public health directors are warning. Association of Directors of Public Health president Greg Fell also told HSJ integrated care boards should “give us [councils] more grief” to take more action on prevention, rather than prioritising NHS upstream interventions that are not as effective as primary prevention. Mr Fell, director of public health at Sheffield City Council, said policy makers, NHS leaders and media too often looked to growing “preventive” treatments – such as weight management treatment, and weight-loss drugs – as the solution to problems like growing obesity and falling healthy life expectancy. He said the routine “framing” of prevention as something the NHS can solve with upstream treatments risked diverting from national and local government actions that could make a much bigger difference. Mr Fell said such interventions – and the high-profile GLP-1 drugs for obesity – may be worthwhile, but for overcoming the big health threats were “like emptying an ocean with a teaspoon or, being kind, a soup ladle”. He said: “The answer is way upstream of better treatment. [It] is effective regulation of junk food industries, and that isn’t primarily a Department of Health and Social Care thing, and certainly not an NHS problem. It’s a problem across the government.” Mr Fell said he expected the 10-Year Plan “would be pretty good” but means “the bandwidth has been taken by the NHS”. He called for government to outline its plan for preventive cross-government action as part of its health mission, beginning a “debate about the right mix of policies” across multiple government departments, local government, and others. “We haven’t yet seen much on the health mission,” the director of public health said, adding that it would need to cover tobacco control, alcohol, air quality, obesity, and “how does all that hang together across the totality of government?” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 31 March 2025- Posted
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Patients routinely smoking in hospitals, despite ban
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Mental health patients are routinely smoking on trust premises, and do not have enough support to stop, despite the threat of tightening rules. Public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) surveyed mental health trusts at the end of last year and found that although the vast majority of had smoke-free policies, fewer than half were able to support their patients to stop smoking. ASH found mental health patients still routinely smoked on trust sites, often with the support of staff, and with “patchy” tobacco dependence treatment. The charity warned implementation of “tobacco dependence treatment services” had been inhibited by “staff attitudes and beliefs, lack of capacity and resources, lack of leadership, and inadequate or poorly enforced policy”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 18 March 2025- Posted
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Content Article
Vaping is increasingly common among young people. It is less harmful than smoking, but not without risk, particularly for people who have never smoked. Researchers surveyed 39,214 young people and found that: those who vaped were more likely to have breathing issues than those who did not the more they vaped, the higher their chance of breathing issues. The researchers call for more research on the overall safety of vaping in young people, and on the effects of different types of nicotine and vapes and the various flavours. They say that improved labelling would allow thorough investigation of ingredients.- Posted
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It is widely recognised that pharmaceutical marketing contributed to the ongoing US opioid epidemic, but less is understood about how the opioid industry used scientific evidence to generate product demand, shape opioid regulation and change healthcare professionals' behaviour. This qualitative study looks at select scientific articles used by industry to support safety and effectiveness claims and uses a novel database, the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, to look at industry and non-industry documents citing the scientific articles to advance each claim. The authors found that 15 scientific articles were collectively mentioned in 3666 documents supporting five common, inaccurate claims: Opioids are effective for treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain. Opioids are “rarely” addictive. “Pseudo-addiction” is due to inadequate pain management No opioid dose is too high Screening tools can identify those at risk of developing addiction. The articles contributed to the eventual normalisation of these claims by: symbolically associating the claims with scientific evidence building credibility expanding and diversifying audiences and the parties asserting the claims obfuscating conflicts of interest. These findings have implications for regulators of industry products and corporate activity and can inform efforts to prevent similar public health crises.- Posted
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News Article
Vapes '95% safer' than cigarettes messaging backfired
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The message that vaping is 95% safer than smoking has backfired, encouraging some children to vape, says a top health expert. Dr Mike McKean treats children with lung conditions and is vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He says the 2015 public messaging should have been clearer - vapes are only for adults addicted to cigarettes. Evidence on the possible health risks of vaping is still being gathered. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Dr McKean said: "Vaping is not for children and young people. In fact it could be very bad for you," although he stresses that it is not making lots of children very sick, and serious complications are rare. "Vaping is only a tool for adults who are addicted to cigarettes." He says the 95% safe messaging was "a very unwise thing to have done and it's opened the door to significant chaos". "There are many children, young people who have taken up vaping who never intended to smoke and are now likely addicted to vaping. And I think it's absolutely shocking that we've allowed that to happen." Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 September 2023- Posted
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Community Post
Better use of data for medication safety in hospitals
Kenny Fraser posted a topic in Medicine management
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NHS hospital staff spend countless hours capturing data in electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems. Yet that data remains difficult to access and use to support patient care. This is a tremendous opportunity to improve patient safety, drive efficiencies and save time for frontline staff. I have just published a post about this challenge and Triscribe's solution. I would love to hear any comments or feedback on the topic... How could we use this information better? What are hospitals already doing? Where are the gaps? Thanks- Posted
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- Medication - related
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Content Article
Too many women are dying from disadvantage in one of the poorest parts of England, according to ground breaking new research which serves as an urgent wake-up call for levelling up efforts. The report by Agenda Alliance and Changing Lives, Dismantling disadvantage has found that in 2021 a woman in the North East of England was 1.7 times more likely to die early as a result of suicide, addiction, or murder by a partner or family member than in the rest of England and Wales. Today’s new research was conducted to better understand the lives and needs of disadvantaged women in the North East, including Newcastle, coastal areas and Gateshead and Sunderland; some of the poorest regions in the country. Working with women with lived experience at every stage, the study involved 18 in-depth interviews, 47 survey responses; focus groups; data analysis and multiple meetings with affected women, practitioners and policy makers.- Posted
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the third edition of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline which includes important new, and updated, recommendations for the treatment and care of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders. MNS disorders are major contributors to morbidity and premature mortality in all regions of the world. Yet it is estimated that over 75% of people with MNS disorders are unable to access the treatment or care they need. The mhGAP guideline supports countries to strengthen capacity to deal with the growing burden of these conditions. It is intended for use by doctors, nurses, other health workers working in non-specialist settings at primary health care level, as well as health planners and managers. The guideline contains a new module on anxiety reflecting the increased number of people with anxiety disorders, which are among the world’s most common mental disorders. The module includes the following recommendations: Psychological interventions based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) should be offered to adults with generalized anxiety disorder and/or panic disorder. These interventions can be offered in a variety of formats including online, in-person, in groups, or self-guided. Stress management techniques should be considered for adults with generalised anxiety and/or panic disorder. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) should be considered for treating adults with generalized anxiety and/or panic disorder. Psychological and psychosocial interventions The guideline sets out the continuing importance of psychological treatments for a range of MNS conditions. The mhGAP guideline contains new recommendations on psychosocial interventions for carers of persons with psychosis or bipolar disorder as well as new recommendations on psychosocial interventions for psychosis, alcohol dependence, substance use, dementia, and children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders including autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy. Women and girls who want to become pregnant or may become pregnant should not use valproic acid (sodium valproate) The guideline contains an updated recommendation which advises against the use of valproic acid (sodium valproate), a medicine for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, due to risk of birth defects if taken during pregnancy. The guideline recommends the following: Valproic acid (sodium valproate) should not be prescribed to women and girls who want to become pregnant or may become pregnant because of the high risk of birth defects and developmental disorders in children exposed to valproic acid in the womb. For women and girls currently prescribed valproic acid (sodium valproate), advice should be provided on use of effective contraception. It is important that women and girls do not stop taking valproic acid (sodium valproate) without first discussing it with their doctor. Women should be advised to consult their physician as soon as they are planning pregnancy and the need to urgently consult their physician in case of pregnancy. Every effort should be made to switch to appropriate alternative treatment prior to conception. A specialist should periodically review whether valproic acid (sodium valproate) is the most suitable treatment for the person. Other recommendations: Digitally-delivered psychological and psychosocial interventions feature across multiple modules - alcohol use disorders, anxiety, conditions related to stress, drug use disorders, and self-harm and suicide Recommendations for non-pharmacological interventions to improve outcomes for people with dementia have been updated to include physical exercise, CBT, cognitive stimulation therapy and cognitive training. The antipsychotic medicines quetiapine, aripiprazole, olanzapine, paliperidone, and the long-acting antipsychotics haloperidol and zuclopenthixol are included for treatment of psychosis and bipolar disorder. Levetiracetam and lamotrigine are included for treatment of epilepsy.- Posted
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News Article
Hundreds of people across England with drug and alcohol dependencies who have been prescribed Valium long-term, will have their cases reviewed following an Ombudsman investigation. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Change Grow Live (CGL), on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, has been prescribing benzodiazepines to people long-term, against national guidance. The company also provides drug and alcohol services for 50 other councils. Benzodiazepines – including diazepam (Valium) - are a class of medicines that can relieve nervousness, tension and other symptoms of anxiety and should usually only be prescribed short-term. CGL’s policy explains people use them for anxiety, insomnia, to enhance opiate effects, to deal with mental health issues, improve confidence and to reduce psychotic symptoms like hearing voices. However, if they are prescribed for too long, they can have significant negative effects including dependence, withdrawal symptoms and drug-seeking behaviour. People on these medicines should have their prescriptions reviewed regularly, and those reviews should consider the benefits and risks of continuing with the current dose, reducing or stopping it, with a management plan put in place after each review. However, the Ombudsman’s investigation found CGL were either not reviewing people’s prescriptions regularly enough or not keeping proper records of those reviews. Nigel Ellis, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Chief Executive, said: “Clinicians need to weigh up the benefits and risks for patients who are taking these medicines long-term and should have a clear rationale for continuing to prescribe. “I am pleased that patients in these vulnerable groups will now have their cases reviewed more regularly and comprehensively following my investigation. “Both CGL and the council have co-operated fully with our investigation, and I welcome their ready acceptance of our recommendations.” Read full story Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 23 August 2023- Posted
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Addiction treatment eludes more than half of Americans in need
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
Roughly three in 10 adults have been addicted to opioids or have a family member who has been, and less than half of those with a substance use disorder have received treatment, according to a new survey conducted by KFF, a health policy research group. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 adults in July, underscores the broad and often harmful influence of opioid addiction across the nation, which recorded around 110,000 fatal drug overdoses last year alone. And the findings suggest that some proven medications for helping curb drug cravings, such as buprenorphine and methadone, are still not getting to those who need them. Only 25 percent of participants in the poll who said they or someone in their family had an opioid addiction reported receiving medication for themselves or family members. Mollyann Brodie, the executive director of KFF’s polling program, said that the numbers might be an undercount, as some survey participants might have been hesitant to share histories of opioid addiction. Addiction cuts across class, race and geography, the KFF researchers found. Rural and white Americans were the likeliest to report personal or family opioid addiction, but significant percentages of Black, Hispanic, urban and suburban families did, as well. White families were more likely than Black or Hispanic families to say that they had received treatment. Overdose fatality rates among Black Americans have climbed substantially in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a study last year. Dr. David Fiellin, an addiction physician at the Yale School of Medicine, said the survey showed the need for a stronger federal response to substance use disorders, akin to the one for AIDS. He said, “There’s often a misunderstanding of what treatment actually looks like and what it is—people often look to a quick fix,” he said, referring to a detox strategy. “Effective treatment tends to be much more long term and requires addressing the denial that can be part of the condition.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: New York Times, 15 August 2023- Posted
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News Article
Cough syrups could be made prescription-only over addiction fears
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Concerns codeine-based cough syrup could be addictive and have serious health consequences have led the UK medicines safety regulator to consider stopping its sale over the counter. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is asking the public for their views on changing codeine linctus - which is a syrup with the active ingredient codeine phosphate and is used to treat a dry cough - to a prescription-only medicine. This comes in the wake of multiple reports to the regulator that the medicine is instead being used recreationally for its opioid effects. Since 2018, the MHRA has received 116 reports of recreational drug abuse of, dependence on, and/or withdrawal from codeine medicines, including codeine linctus. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said this can have a severe impact on people’s health. She said: “Codeine linctus is an effective medicine, but as it is an opioid, its misuse and abuse can have major health consequences.” Pharmacists are also “significantly” concerned, especially about the overdose risk. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 July 2023- Posted
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The public health grant is paid to local authorities from the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) budget. It is used to provide vital preventative services that help to support health. This includes smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services, children's health services and sexual health services, as well as broader public health support across local authorities and the NHS. Key points: The public health grant has been cut by 26% on a real-terms per person basis since 2015/16. Additional but time-limited funding for drug and alcohol treatment has been allocated to local authorities. Taking account of this additional spend leaves broader public health funding 21% lower on a real terms per person basis since 2015/16. Some of the largest reductions in spend over this period were for stop smoking services and tobacco control, falling by 45% in real terms, as well as drug and alcohol services for adults (17%) and sexual health services (29%). Poor health is strongly associated with living in socioeconomically deprived areas. A girl born today in the most deprived 10% of local areas is expected to live 19 fewer years in good health than a girl born in the least deprived. However, real-terms per person cuts to the grant have tended to be greater in more deprived areas. In Blackpool, ranked as the most deprived upper tier local authority in England, the cut to the grant (including new drug and alcohol treatment funding) has been one of the largest – at £33 in real terms per person since 2015/16. Local authority public health interventions funded by the grant provide excellent value for money, with each additional year of good health achieved in the population by public health interventions costing £3,800. This is three to four times lower than the cost resulting from NHS interventions of £13,500.- Posted
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The opioid crisis in the United States (US) is one of the most high-profile public health scandals of the 21st century with millions of people unknowingly becoming dependent on opioids. The United Kingdom (UK) had the world’s highest rate of opioid consumption in 2019, and opiate-related drug poisoning deaths have increased by 388% since 1993 in England and Wales. This article, published in the British Journal of Pain, explores the epidemiological definitions of public health emergencies and epidemics in the context of opioid use, misuse, and mortality in England, to establish whether England is facing an opioid crisis.- Posted
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News Article
Codeine linctus, an oral solution or syrup licensed to treat dry cough in adults, is to be reclassified to a prescription-only medicine due to the risk of abuse, dependency and overdose, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has announced. Codeine linctus is an opioid medicine which has previously been available to buy in pharmacies under the supervision of a pharmacist but will now only be available on prescription following an assessment by a healthcare professional. Since 2019, there have been increasing reports in the media of codeine linctus being misused as an ingredient in a recreational drink, commonly referred to as ‘Purple Drank’. The decision to reclassify the medicine has been made following a consultation with independent experts, healthcare professionals and patients. 992 responses were received. The consultation was launched by the MHRA after Yellow Card reports indicated instances of the medicine being abused, rather than for its intended use as a cough suppressant. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said: "Patient safety is our top priority. Codeine linctus is an effective medicine for long term dry cough, but as it is an opioid, its misuse and abuse can have major health consequences." Alternative non-prescription cough medicines are available for short-term coughs to sooth an irritated throat, including honey and lemon mixtures and cough suppressants. Patients are urged to speak to a pharmacist for advice and not to buy codeine linctus from an unregistered website as it could be dangerous. Read full story Source: MHRA, 20 February 2024- Posted
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People buying opioids and sedatives online face deadly fakes, expert warns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People trying to buy illicit synthetic opioids and sedatives online to treat pain, anxiety and insomnia increasingly risk taking a different drug that has caused dozens of deaths among heroin users, a leading expert has warned. Nitazenes – synthetic and extremely powerful drugs implicated in fatalities of chronic powdered heroin users in Birmingham, Bristol and London in recent months – have been detected in illicit supplies of tablets being sold as diazepam and codeine that appeal to a wider market. New figures released to the Guardian by the National Crime Agency reveal 65 people have died from taking nitazenes in the past six months – more than two a week, while detections in drug supplies have increased more than fivefold in the last two years. “[Nitazenes] are being mixed into heroin but it is also in fake diazepam, fake codeine and the person buying the tablets online is a very different kind of user to a heroin user,” Dr Caroline Copeland, the director of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths said. “It means the risk is much wider.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 January 2024- Posted
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Thousands of lives could be saved if safe rooms were set up in UK cities where people could be supervised while they get high, the world’s largest review of the effectiveness of drug-consumption rooms and overdose-prevention centres (OPCs) has found. The part-government-funded study published on Thursday also found the facilities could slash the transmission of fatal diseases, as well as reduce drug litter, the pressure on ambulance callouts and the burden on hospitals. Similar facilities already operate in France, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Mexico, Iceland and Colombia. Each unit hosts from 20 to 400 users a day and is supposed to provide somewhere for people to take drugs in the presence of trained health workers who intervene if an overdose occurs. They also mean people don’t have to rush their drug taking, can access clean needles, and get help with other health issues, from testing for hepatitis B and HIV to accessing mental-health support. But none has yet been deployed officially in the UK, and the report warns the absence “costs lives”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2023 -
News Article
Chronic pain sufferers should not be given opioids, says medicines watchdog
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People with chronic pain that can’t be explained by other conditions should not be prescribed opioids because they do more harm than good, the medicines watchdog has warned. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said people should instead be offered group exercise, acupuncture and psychological therapy. In new draft guidance, NICE said most of the common medications used for chronic primary pain has little or no evidence to support their use in patients aged over 16. Its latest guidance comes amid concerns over the level of opioid use. In September last year a review by Public Health England found 1 in 4 adults have been prescribed addictive medications with half of them taking the drugs for longer than 12 months. NICE’s new draft guidance said some antidepressants should be considered for people with chronic primary pain but it said paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen, as well as benzodiazepines or opioids should not be given because of concerns they might do more harm than good. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 August 2020- Posted
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Overdose calls may be getting too low priority for ambulances
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Ambulance services have been urged to look at how suspected overdose and poisoning cases are prioritised after paramedics took 45 minutes to reach a woman with known mental health problems. Helen Sheath, 33, had been discharged from a mental health unit in early July last year and was still waiting for an outpatient appointment with a psychological assessment and treatment service when she took a fatal dose of sodium nitrate on 20 August. Her father called an ambulance at 6.20pm when she had locked herself in a bathroom and was threatening to take the sodium nitrate. But Bedfordshire and Luton senior coroner Emma Whitting said her father could not tell whether or not she had taken it, and that in view of her history of suicidal ideation, the call should have been treated as a category two – with an 18 minutes response target – rather than a category three incident. The first ambulance which was sent to her was diverted on route and it was only after a second call to the East of England Ambulance Service at 6.48pm, that the call was upgraded to category two – when the call handler selected a different set of questions, after being told she had ingested the chemical. A rapid response vehicle arrived at 7.05pm and the mental health street triage team attended six minutes later. Shortly afterwards she became acutely unwell and was taken to Bedford Hospital, where she received treatment but died shortly afterwards. In a prevention of future deaths report Ms Whitting said: “If the first call had been coded as a category two, it seems likely that the rapid response vehicle, mental health street triage team (and even possibly the double staffed ambulance) would have arrived on scene much earlier (potentially just before or just after Helen had ingested the sodium nitrate) which could potentially have altered the outcome.” The case comes just months after two other ambulance trusts were criticised in cases involving suspected or threatened overdoses. The prevention of future deaths report was sent to the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and the emergency call prioritisation advisory group, which is run by NHS England. Neither would comment other than saying they would respond to the coroner. Read full story Source: HSJ, 15 June 2020- Posted
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CQC: Fears covid restrictions caused opiate addiction deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Problems with dispensing drugs during the COVID-19 crisis may be contributing to an “apparent increase” in deaths of patients receiving treatment for opiate addiction, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said. The regulator has said the increase in deaths “may be a result of some services stopping all daily dispensing of opiates” and has taken enforcement action against a “large national provider of substance misuse services” which ”stopped all daily dispensing”. The provider has not been named by the CQC as it is “entitled to an appeal period,” but the regulator told HSJ the provider had not recorded their risk assessments for their clients in relation to changes in drug dispensing. The CQC said the provider had now “assured us” individualised risk assessments were in place. The CQC is now reviewing all deaths of people which have been reported by substance misuse services since 1 March due to concerns about the apparent increase and “that some of these deaths may be related to changes in prescribing practices in response to COVID-19”. Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 May 2020 -
Content Article
The United States has been the site of significant social and economic fallout during the course of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The last year has been marked by high rates of unemployment, stress, economic insecurity, and uncertainty. And for people with mental health and substance use disorders, the consequences of the pandemic have been felt deeply. As vaccines for people in the United States become more widely available, understanding the impact of the pandemic on substance abuse and treatment remains important for determining the next steps and helping those in need of care. In this blog, AddictionResource.net describe some of the ways that the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of people with substance use disorders over the past year.- Posted
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This is the report of the Scottish Government's Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities. The report brings together thinking on poverty, lack of employment, children's lives and support for families and physical and social environments, as well as on health and wellbeing. It makes clear that the Scottish Government will not only respond to the consequences of health inequalities, but also tackle its causes.- Posted
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This competency framework has been developed and updated to support prescribers in expanding their knowledge, skills, motives and personal traits, to continually improve their performance, and work safely and effectively. 'To support all prescribers in prescribing safely and effectively, a single prescribing competency framework was originally published by the National Prescribing Centre/National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2012. NICE and Health Education England approached the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to manage the update of the framework on behalf of all the prescribing professions in the UK. A Competency Framework for all Prescribers was first published by the RPS in July 2016. Going forward, the RPS will continue to maintain and publish this framework in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary group with representatives from professional regulators, professional organisations, prescribers from all prescribing professions, lay representatives and other relevant and interested stakeholder groups from across the UK. ' Since the 2016 framework, there have been various changes that needed to be included in the update of the framework, these include: Legislation changes introducing paramedic prescribers in April 2018. Current prescribing topics, such as remote prescribing, social prescribing, psychosocial assessment and eco-directed sustainable prescribing. Publication of the RPS Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners in December 2019; for further information, please see 'A competency framework for designated prescribing practitioners'. Supporting tools- Posted
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Content Article
The rise in opioid overdoses warrants a review of the symptoms of akathisia writes Russell Copelan. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the nation was struggling with escalating drug overdose deaths. Now, there are some who are convinced that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to further increases in opioid overdoses. Public services were disrupted. Some treatment programmes had to restrict access, reduce staffing, and increase supply between limited provider visits. Many addicts are homeless and do not have Internet or telemedicine contact. Social distancing may have prevented some individuals from having anyone around to administer naloxone (Narcan, Evzio). Inadequate border restrictions have likely increased drug supply with higher potency. These conjoint "opioid epidemics" have heightened and stirred conversations about prescribing and regulatory practices, "war on drugs" rhetoric, the "fifth vital sign," opioid accessibility, prescription rates, and effectiveness of opioids for non-cancer chronic pain, among many others. With the rise in opioid use and death, a review of the many and sometimes paradoxical expressions of akathisia is warranted.- Posted
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