Overdoses on opioid painkillers more than double in a decade

By Sarah Marsh

The number of patients admitted to hospital for overdosing on powerful and potentially addictive opioid painkillers has more than doubled in a decade, with doctors saying it is the “very worrying” consequence of the drugs being prescribed too readily.

Data from NHS Digital shows an increase in people attending hospital with poisoning from prescription opioids such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl rising from 4,891 in 2005-06 to 11,660 last year in England.

Dr Jane Quinlan, a consultant in anaesthesia and pain management at Oxford University Hospitals NHS foundation trust, described the increase as “very worrying”.

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