NHS ‘must do more’ to help middle-aged heroin addicts

HEROIN addiction has become a middle-aged “baby boomer” problem, Government advisers have revealed.

They say the number of heroin or opiate users aged over 40 who need NHS treatment has trebled in just 12 years, from 25,000 in 2006 to more than 75,000 last year.

By contrast the number of heroin users under 30 being treated – the children of the baby boom generation – has plunged from 60,000 to 13,000 in the 12 years to 2017-18.

The overall number of heroin addicts being treated has remained stable at between 260,000 and 280,000 but the proportion under 30 has fallen to 9 per cent. The proportion aged over 40 has risen to 53 per cent, including 16 per cent aged over 50, while 38 per cent are in their 30s.

The Advisory Council on Drug Misuse warned the NHS is not geared up to cope with ageing drug users who even now are dominating demand for treatment for heroin or opiate addiction and will continue to do so into the future.

They are harder and more expensive to treat because of their lengthy drug use, premature ageing and greater likelihood to suffer serious physical and mental health conditions.

“They are more difficult to treat, they have been with treatment services a long time, they have entrenched problems, they have failing health and dependence is hard to overcome,” said the advisers, who called for a review of the current skills, treatment and support within the NHS for ageing addicts and pilot schemes to identify the best way of treating them.

Dr Owen Bowden-jones, chair of the ACMD, said: “This ageing cohort is likely to dominate future demand on substance misuse services which is why more needs to be done now to help these people access services that meet their needs.”