Care Quality Commission (CQC) Report on Safer Management of Controlled Drugs in England for 2023
The CQC’s 2023 report on the management of controlled drugs highlights critical trends, issues, and recommendations under the Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013.
Key Issues Identified
The report reveals persistent risks associated with controlled drugs within the evolving health and care systems. One major concern is the prescribing of controlled drugs from outside England. This regulatory gap has led to access to inappropriately prescribed medicines, including large quantities of Schedule 4 and 5 drugs, causing significant harm and even death.
Additionally, there has been a substantial increase in cannabisbased products for medicinal use (CBPMs) prescribed privately in the independent sector. Between June 2022 and June 2023, private prescriptions for CBPMs increased by 118%. Unlicensed prescriptions rose by at least 100% annually.
National Prescribing Trends
The report provides detailed data on national prescribing trends for 2023. NHS primary care services prescribed 73,830,666 controlled drug items in 2023, a slight decrease from 73,880,442 in 2022.
Key trends observed include:
ADHD Medication: There is a continued rise in the prescribing volumes of ADHD medications, such as dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine, and methylphenidate. This trend is evident in NHS hospital prescribing for community dispensing and private prescriptions.
Testosterone Prescribing: There is an increase in testosterone prescriptions, likely due to greater awareness of its benefits for women experiencing menopause.
Reduction in Certain Drugs: Prescriptions for pholcodine, pethidine, coproxamol, fentanyl, and diamorphine have decreased. Fentanyl patch prescriptions have also reduced in certain age groups.
NonMedical Prescribing: Pharmacists continue to account for over half of nonmedical prescribing.
Dental Prescribing: There is a continued decrease in prescribing by NHS dentists, possibly due to dental access issues.
Recommendations from CQC
To address the issues identified, CQC has made several recommendations:
Health and Care Services: Share information about concerns related to controlled drugs with relevant organizations promptly, including NHS England controlled drugs local intelligence networks.
National Bodies and Government: Address online prescribing of Schedule 4 and 5 controlled drugs by services and prescribers outside the UK. Review the impact of the 2018 legislation change allowing CBPM prescriptions
Police Services: Ensure controlled drugs liaison officers are adequately resourced to provide necessary support and advice for services using controlled drugs.
For more detailed insights, you can access the full CQC report on their [official website](https://www.cqc.org.uk) here.
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