Prescriptions paving our way to Health disaster? 

Doctors of the NHS and UK have warned that painkiller dependency (addiction) may be a future crisis we are likely to face as data shows drug prescription has doubled in the UK within the past decade . The faculty of pain medicine and Royal Pharmaceutical society has raised concerns on the growing use of Opioid drugs(painkillers) e.g. codeine( a drug used to treat moderate degrees of pain) and Tramadol (drug used to treat severe pain).

Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Doctor Barry Miller stated - "While some of the increase use can be attributed towards an improvement in understanding of the effectiveness of these medications by professionals, we are concerned for reports of unnecessary prescription", furthermore he stated that increase prescription rates of painkillers in the UK should be "met with concern".

NHS digital figures clearly shows evidence that the number of Opioids prescription have doubled in the last decade, with prescription rate  being from being at 12 million in the UK in 2015 to rising to 24 million in 2016. The greatest increase in prescriptions was in oxycodone (opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to severe pain- having similar effects as morphine) which rose from 387,591- 1.5 Million; a percentage rise of 287% which was closely followed by morphine sulphate, and further followed by fentanyl which increased by 143%.  Doctor Miller whose faculty of Pain Medicine that represents acute chronic and cancer pain also stated - "NHS staffing prescribing medications need to ensure they are not doing more harm than good", which highlights the severity of this matter .

Martin Johnson - Clinical lead for chronic pain and Royal College of General Practitioners said, people with other medical conditions e.g. diabetes are monitored while on medication, while others are not , which explains why members of the drug information service warned that the growing prescription of addiction and painkillers in the UK was leading to a "Public health disaster in plain sight". Furthermore doctors have warned about the scale of people that are likely to be addicted to such Opioid drugs, estimating to be over 190,000.

Opiodids
They attach to receptors in the brain, and sent signals to the brain which blocks pain calms breathing and has a anti depressing effect. They have an endogenous origin which are created naturally in the body, and the painkiller mimics the structure of the natural neurotransmitter. Although they have a similar structure to the naturally producing body chemical  they don't act in the same way, but transmit abnormal messages in the brain network which reduces pain. Jain Quinlan, Anaesthesia Consultant and pain management at Oxford University Hospitals NHS foundation trust said - "For the majority of patients with chronic pain opioids doesn't reduce the pain, but the side effects can significantly worsen their quality of life . Over time they can make people more sensitive to pain".

It is clear that over prescription and use of everyday medicinal drugs are becoming a greater problem for our NHS and country, but the only way reduce such issues is by effective communication, and asking  questions regarding ones own health towards their physician, if felt they are doing their health harm then good.

Hope you have found this post useful. By Universal Medicine team (Mathew George)

Sources:
https://www.naabt.org/faq_answers.cfm?ID=6
https://www.drugs.com/fentanyl.html
http://www.content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB23442
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/may/05/unnecessary-opioid-painkiller-prescriptions-thousands-addicted-nhs-doctors-warn

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