§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many opioid prescriptions were issued in the UK in each of the past ten years. [53197]
§ Ms BlearsInformation for England is shown in the table. Information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
Number of prescription items dispensed in the community for opioid analgesics and opioid drugs used in substance dependence, 1991 to 2001 Thousand Number of prescription items 1991 3,444 1992 3,705 1993 3,946 1994 4,384 1995 4,918 1996 5,495 1997 6,096 1998 6,722 1999 7,336 2000 8,014 2001 8,766 Notes:
- 1. The prescription information was obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community, i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Total prescriptions include not only prescriptions originating from general medical practitioners in England but also from hospital doctors, nurses, and dentists, provided they were dispensed in the community. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospital or private prescriptions.
- 2. Opioid analgesics are those drugs defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 4.7.2, "Opioid analgesics". The opioid drugs used in substance dependence are contained within the BNF section 4.10, and are methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone.