Napp Pharmaceuticals strongly welcomes today’s publication of Public Health England’s (PHE) report on the review of prescribed medicines that may cause dependence or withdrawal. We believe the recommendations outlined by PHE will help protect patients by ensuring appropriate prescribing of medicines and providing safe and effective pain management.
Patient safety is our highest concern. We support all efforts to ensure that there is the best possible guidance within the NHS to enable healthcare professionals to treat patients effectively and consistently, whilst accurately explaining the risks and benefits of opioid analgesics. We proactively engaged in the PHE review, submitting a position paper summarising our thoughts and suggestions to overcome key challenges.
In November 2018, we published a list of suggestions we believe PHE should consider as part of the review. These included actions around improving awareness of addiction and improving intelligence on the use of medicines, ensuring high-quality treatment reviews, introducing further safeguards and strengthening access to pain management services. We are therefore pleased to see the report make specific recommendations aligned to these, such as increasing access to data, supporting increased adherence to clinical guidelines and ensuring appropriate support for patients experiencing dependence and withdrawal problems.
As a member of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) we will help to support the implementation of Public Health England’s recommendations and hope the Government work quickly to drive them forward.
