AQW 21267/17-22 Written question to the Minister of Health
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of units of opioid pain medication prescribed in each of the last five years, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.
Asked by Claire Sugden MLA on 1 July 2021
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 1 July 2021
- Answer due by
- 20 July 2021
- Answered
- 6 July 20215 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Health
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The number of units of opioid pain medication prescribed in each of the last five years is not known. The HSC Business Services Organisation (BSO) holds data on medications prescribed in primary care and dispensed by a community pharmacist. The tables overleaf show the number of items and quantities of opiod pain medication dispensed and cover all prescription items and quantities, by preparation type, for opioids dispensed for each of the last five financial years, by Local Commissioning Group area.
The number and quantities of opiod pain medication dispensed in each Local Commissioning Group area, 2016/17 to 2020/211, 2, 3
| 2016/17 | Number of Prescription Items | Quantity of Tablets/ Capsules | Volume of Solutions (ml) | Quantity of Granules (sachets) | Quantity of Transdermal Patches |
| Belfast | 252,421 | 11,482,130 | 952,030 | 12,622 | 308,682 |
| Northern | 243,347 | 11,389,989 | 888,416 | 8,652 | 293,233 |
| Southern | 185,664 | 8,096,910 | 811,946 | 12,356 | 225,943 |
| South Eastern | 192,334 | 8,121,810 | 666,271 | 8,405 | 343,345 |
| Western | 162,366 | 7,294,858 | 993,505 | 5,608 | 193,364 |
| Unknown | 9,280 | 147,963 | 128,578 | 771 | 2,220 |
| Total | 1,045,412 | 46,533,660 | 4,440,746 | 48,414 | 1,366,787 |
| 2017/18 | Number of Prescription Items | Quantity of Tablets/ Capsules | Volume of Solutions (ml) | Quantity of Granules (sachets) | Quantity of Transdermal Patches |
| Belfast | 251,300 | 11,201,559 | 943,042 | 15,206 | 314,927 |
| Northern | 242,559 | 11,244,855 | 960,490 | 5,881 | 293,180 |
| Southern | 184,446 | 7,906,762 | 786,910 | 12,326 | 228,752 |
| South Eastern | 192,077 | 7,881,009 | 749,439 | 9,949 | 346,018 |
| Western | 161,467 | 7,223,594 | 989,085 | 7,470 | 196,560 |
| Unknown | 9,313 | 136,983 | 164,078 | 1,100 | 1,883 |
| Total | 1,041,162 | 45,594,762 | 4,593,044 | 51,932 | 1,381,320 |
| 2018/19 | Number of Prescription Items | Quantity of Tablets/ Capsules | Volume of Solutions (ml) | Quantity of Granules (sachets) | Quantity of Transdermal Patches |
| Belfast | 247,886 | 10,835,814 | 1,065,536 | 12,004 | 310,070 |
| Northern | 239,034 | 10,911,346 | 990,643 | 4,570 | 281,774 |
| Southern | 180,274 | 7,571,369 | 737,259 | 7,418 | 227,619 |
| South Eastern | 192,546 | 7,778,628 | 748,328 | 6,732 | 342,109 |
| Western | 160,285 | 7,104,338 | 1,072,623 | 5,072 | 198,106 |
| Unknown | 8,113 | 121,623 | 154,752 | 904 | 1,408 |
| Total | 1,028,138 | 44,323,118 | 4,769,141 | 36,700 | 1,361,086 |
| 2019/20 | Number of Prescription Items | Quantity of Tablets/ Capsules | Volume of Solutions (ml) | Quantity of Granules (sachets) | Quantity of Transdermal Patches |
| Belfast | 247,185 | 10,575,768 | 1,220,813 | 14,550 | 309,318 |
| Northern | 237,369 | 10,682,268 | 1,086,652 | 8,156 | 271,524 |
| Southern | 178,050 | 7,357,247 | 780,135 | 5,657 | 225,660 |
| South Eastern | 192,075 | 7,670,926 | 848,838 | 11,727 | 336,108 |
| Western | 161,776 | 7,090,508 | 1,155,788 | 4,877 | 200,077 |
| Unknown | 8,047 | 113,141 | 151,063 | 606 | 1,457 |
| Total | 1,024,502 | 43,489,858 | 5,243,289 | 45,573 | 1,344,144 |
| 2020/21 | Number of Prescription Items | Quantity of Tablets/ Capsules | Volume of Solutions (ml) | Quantity of Granules (sachets) | Quantity of Transdermal Patches |
| Belfast | 238,882 | 10,151,440 | 1,413,197 | 18,694 | 296,968 |
| Northern | 228,169 | 10,283,986 | 1,234,625 | 6,222 | 253,728 |
| Southern | 176,328 | 7,206,449 | 864,629 | 7,218 | 221,076 |
| South Eastern | 188,824 | 7,590,967 | 841,771 | 6,482 | 320,608 |
| Western | 160,799 | 7,071,938 | 1,194,039 | 2,589 | 191,984 |
| Unknown | 7,922 | 111,736 | 165,809 | 464 | 1,588 |
| Total | 1,000,924 | 42,416,516 | 5,714,070 | 41,669 | 1,285,952 |
Source: Family Practitioner Services, HSC Business Services Organisation.
1 Opioid drugs fall within British National Formulary Chapter 4, Section 7, Paragraph 2.
2 All information is for prescriptions prescribed in primary care and dispensed by a community pharmacist or dispensing doctor and based on the year of payment. If a patient does not take a prescription to a dispenser and have it provided to them, the information will not be included in the dataset. Data on secondary care prescribing and private prescriptions are not held by the Business Services Organisation.
3 The Local Commissioning Groups (LCGs) cover the same geographical areas as the Health and Social Care Trusts. The LCG is based on the location of the GP Practice. Those with an unknown LCG are due to the practice that prescribed the item being a non-standard GP practice, therefore falling outside the LCG definitions e.g. Out of Hours, Hospice or HM Forces.