Question reference: S5W-24166
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 2 July 2019
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 30 July 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prescribed methadone in each year since 2007.
Answer
Information on the number of people who have been prescribed methadone is not held centrally.
NHS Information Services Division (ISD) publish figures on the Scottish Public Health Observatory (https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/ ) on drugs used for the treatment of opioid dependency in Scotland, which includes dispensing of methadone hydrochloride. Published figures show that over the ten year period 2007-08 to 2017-18, the number of dispensed items for Methadone has reduced by 14%, from 492,908 dispensed items to 423,656.
Data for 2007-08 to 2017-18 can be seen in the following table:
Year | Number of Dispensed Items |
2007-08 | 492,908 |
2008-09 | 493,767 |
2009-10 | 510,063 |
2010-11 | 534,674 |
2011-12 | 515,897 |
2012-13 | 488,982 |
2013-14 | 464,639 |
2014-15 | 439,778 |
2015-16 | 433,448 |
2016-17 | 432,493 |
2017-18 | 423,656 |
Note that the number of dispensed items equals the number of prescriptions. A prescription with a seven days’ supply of medicine is one item with seven dispensings.
Opioid Substitution Therapy must, however, be just one component in a package of personalised care, treatment and recovery that is offered to individuals alongside harm reduction, mutual aid and wider wrap around support on issues such as mental health, housing and employability.