GP alert over opioid painkillers

OPIOID painkillers including morphine, oxycodone and codeine have been increasingly prescribed in recent years, research found.

Data from nearly two million new GP patients found 14.6 per cent became long- term users, according to the study.

Older age, social deprivation and a history of self- harm or substance abuse were risk factors for dependency, said Dr Meghna Jani of Manchester University.

Between 2006 and 2017, prescriptions for codeine increased from 484 to 2,456 per 10,000 population per year.

Prescriptions for morphine rose from 18 to 422 per 100,000 and for oxycodone from five to 169, with some “high risk prescribers” whose patients were 3.5 times more likely to use the drugs continually.

The findings support a call for more consistent GP prescribing practices to avoid an epidemic of addiction. Dr Jani wrote in the journal PLOS Medicine: “Given the potential harms, we think it is imperative.”