Epidemic of opioids fuelled by desperate NHS patients

Use of addictive painkillers soars by 40% as waiting lists get longer

‘Unprecedented health challenge’

HIGHLY addictive opioid painkillers are being prescribed at alarming levels to patients stuck on growing waiting lists.

Patients waiting for hip and knee replacements in particular have contributed to a 40 per cent increase in the number of pills being doled out.

Research has revealed the number of patients on opioids is vastly above prepandemic levels after hospitals paused routine work to focus on emergency care.

Waiting times for routine surgery are estimated to be up to two years.

It comes as NHS figures show the pandemic’s impact on hip and knee operations in Scotland – with 7,233 carried out in 2020, fewer than half the 15,864 the year before.

Researchers say alternative ways of managing severe arthritis pain must be found ‘urgently’ for those waiting for this kind of surgery, to avoid opioid dependence.

Drugs such as morphine and tramadol are often used as a last resort in pain management in osteoarthritis. But researchers said there is growing evidence it can be of limited benefit and even long-term detriment to health, especially in older adults.

Luke Farrow, of Aberdeen University’s Institute of Applied Health Sciences, led the research.

He said: ‘Our work provides evidence of potential for an emerging opioid problem associated with the influence of

Covid-19 on elective orthopaedic services.’

He added: ‘We would advocate healthcare professionals and patients avoid the use of opioid medication if at all possible due to the known lack of effect in this setting and potential for harm.

‘We urgently need to find better alternative methods for managing severe arthritis pain for those awaiting this type of surgery and work to recover the backlog of associated operative cancellations during Covid-19 to prevent more widespread opioid use.’

The study – published in the BMJ Quality & Safety journal – looked at data from 452 patients in the North-East.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented public health challenge and has inevitably had an impact on services.

‘The focus for much of the year has been on prioritisation of clinically urgent and emergency cases and this has resulted in a reduction in arthroplasty [joint surgery] activity…

‘All health boards have been severely impacted and are working hard to return to providing high-volume, high-quality care.’