Public Health England has just published a review on prescribed medicines this week. The findings show that over 5M people in Britain have been prescribed opioids every year - or one in eight of the adult population. Commenting, Andrew Green, BMA Council Member and previous GPC prescribing lead, said: "To reduce prescription levels, we need significant investment in support services. This will enable patients and GPs to manage dependencies in the community. GPs will often be the sole clinicians who are often managing a patient's withdrawal, and there is a real need for better clinical guidance in this respect. We are glad that NICE is in the process of developing these. Whilst there remains a place for prescribing these drugs, we need many more alternative to medication, such as pain clinics, improved access to mental health services, and physiotherapy - the universal provision of which are all lacking."
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