GP PRACTICES across Fife have been involved in a new study that's revealed a significant number of people are taking prescription medication – putting them at risk of overdose.

The NHS Fife-funded research involved looking at more than 42,000 patients in Fife who had been prescribed opioids over the previous six-month period.

Around one third of patients (14,079) had been prescribed a strong opioid – a range of pain-relieving medication prescribed for acute pain, cancer pain, chronic pain, palliative care or to manage dependence on illicit drugs like heroin.

The research found the most common comorbidities – the presence of two or more diseases in the same person – and overdose risk factors among those prescribed a strong opioid, were pain (67.2 per cent), cardiovascular disease (43.3 per cent), mental health problems (39.3 per cent) and respiratory disease (25.6 per cent).

There was also a significant link between the number of patients living in the most deprived areas with the proportion prescribed a strong opioid.

University of Stirling, the University of St Andrews and Glasgow Caledonian University were all part of the study funded by a research and development bursary from NHS Fife.

Deborah Steven is the lead pharmacist for pain management in Fife and was co-investigator for the project.

She said: “We know that opioids can be useful for some people but for others can cause issues in the short- and long-term.

"These can include side effects, such as dependency, risk of overdose and, in some circumstances, a worsening of their pain.

“It’s vital that these types of medicines are being used safely and effectively and this research has allowed us to better understand current prescribing of opioids to patients locally.

"Furthermore, the research is also helping individual medical practices to support their patients currently prescribed these medicines, while reducing the risk of accidental harm in patients benefitting from taking opioid medications.

“In the longer-term, the research has provided us with a firm, evidence-based grounding to move forward with wider proposals around pain medicines safety here in Fife.”

It's hoped the study will impact policy and practice, with researchers advising that risk could be reduced by implementing additional clinical governance, such as auditing local prescribing to identify at-risk patients.

Scotland has one of the highest rates of opioid-related overdose mortality in Europe, with the rates of fatal overdose continuing to increase.

Joe Schofield, of the University of Stirling and a researcher on the project, said: “Our work shows there is likely to be a large population of people prescribed strong opioids across Scotland, many of whom will be at increased risk of overdose, especially those prescribed multiple medications and who have other health conditions.

"We found those at risk tended to be older, female, and living in areas of high social deprivation.

“There is a need to explore practical interventions to reduce the risk of overdose within this group and clinical practice may need to be tightened to minimise overdose risk for individuals prescribed strong opioids.

“We welcome NHS Fife’s commitment to patient safety demonstrated by their funding of this study as part of wider quality improvement work – and we recommend that other health boards take a similar approach to reduce the risk of harm to people prescribed opioids across Scotland.”