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20
Apr 2021
Women in England nearly twice as likely to be prescribed opiate painkillers as men
It has emerged that women in England are nearly twice as likely to be prescribed powerful and potentially addictive opiate painkillers as men, prompting experts to warn that female pain is not properly investigated and overly medicated.
An analysis by the Guardian newspaper found that the number of people prescribed drugs such as tramadol and codeine, which are often used for chronic pain, increased to 1.18 million in the first ten months of 2020. Of these, 745,047 were women and 434,697 were men.
According to data from the NHS Business Services Authority, which deals with prescription services in England, the increase in such prescriptions issued to women rose by 4.5% between October 2015 and October 2020, compared with an increase of under 1% for men.
This news comes after figures showed deaths from prescription opiate painkillers have doubled from 350 to 700 over the last ten years.
Opioid drug use has been of increasing concern in recent years, particularly in relation to the risk of overdose and addition, and their limited effectiveness over time.
Dr Barry Miller of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, said “We are well aware opiates are overused and that is a concern for us, and as a faculty we are working to provide much better guidance to reduce overuse of opiates.”
He said that the number of women on this medication was a concern, adding “I would worry about anyone on these drugs – male or female, young or old. It is an area of worry and I would not underestimate that.”
A spokesperson from the NHS said “While these drugs play an important role for some people, GPs and pharmacists are working with their patients to ensure they are on the right medicines for the right reasons – for many, rather than a ‘pill for every ill’, social prescribing and talking therapies can be more appropriate ways of helping some people to get better and stay healthy.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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