North-South divide in opioid and painkiller prescribing with high use in England’s most deprived areas

Published

3 years ago

October 8, 2022

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A North-South divide over the prescription of high dose opioids and other painkillers has been revealed by Sky News research.

The findings are being described as a “time bomb” of potential addiction problems.

In the North East, the amounts prescribed are three times more per head than in London, according to data collated from Open Prescribing.

For example, a practice in Durham with 18,000 patients prescribes over 1.2 million milligrams of opioids a month, (the rough equivalent of 42,000 strong tablets).

An average UK practice of the same size would prescribe about 480,000 milligrams per month (about 16,000 strong tablets).

The region’s lead pharmacist told Sky News: “We’ve all got to re-educate ourselves” about the potential harms of over-prescription.

Opioids are also prescribed to people in the most deprived parts of the country almost twice as much as those in the most well-off areas.

Social workers and other professionals say that GPs are creating the clientele for a growing black market in prescription drugs, and there is a lack of services to help people with their addictions.

While opioid use has fallen slightly in recent years – prescriptions of other painkillers such as pregabalin are on the increase.

‘I don’t know how I’m alive’

Patients have told Sky News that they struggled to beat their addiction and often turned to illegal dealers to top up their medication.

Justine Grant, from Sacriston, near Durham beat an addiction to heroin and was clean for 12 years, but says the drug her doctor later prescribed for pain relief was an even greater challenge.

She said, “I said I need something like ibuprofen but maybe a bit stronger, and that’s when they prescribed us the pregabalin. It’s very, very addictive. More addictive than anything I’ve taken in my lifetime.”

“I immediately got addicted to one of those a day, and then two and then three and then four. Up until I was taking ten a day. I don’t know how I’m alive.”

Justine was topping up her prescriptions using drug dealers, taking 3,000 mg of the drug a day, costing her £25.

What is pregabalin?

Pregabalin works on nerve pain by affecting messages travelling through the brain and down the spine.

The drugs information site Frank says it produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calmness; and can heighten the effects of other drugs.

Pregabalin and opioids taken together can cause people to stop breathing.

The NHS recommends it is not stopped suddenly as withdrawal could cause anxiety, insomnia, nausea, pain and sweating.

Officials who draw up prescribing guidelines at NICE have made it a class C drug and warn GPs to look out for signs of dependency and abuse.

She added: “Everybody’s getting them. The doctors think they’re the new wonder drug and they can’t see the problems they’re causing.”

Advice published by NHS England eight years ago warns doctors that this this type of drug “can lead to dependence and may be misused or diverted”.

It also says that the drug is used as a “commodity for trade” in prisons.

‘What will my little girl do if I don’t wake up?’

Cheryl Parker, also from the Durham area, became addicted to codeine after complications giving birth. Soon she was being prescribed 100 tablets every three days. She was in constant fear of overdose, but was sick if she tried to withdraw.

She said: “God I used to be ill. Spewing, couldn’t walk, constantly on the toilet, mentally just totally drained. I used to have an inhaler down the side of my bed every night. I used to just be panicking. What would I do if I don’t wake up? My little girl’s there, what’s she going to do?'”

Justine and Cheryl are both housed by Positive Directions, which helps accommodate vulnerable people.

Beverly Crooks, one of its support workers, says there’s little help available for those with mental health and addiction problems.

She said: “For the last year there’s been a lot of suicides through drugs and people not getting help. People really depressed, can’t get any help from anywhere, getting told there’s no one that can come out and see them because there’s not enough staff.”

The director of Positive Directions, Gary Crooks, told Sky News: “It’s an absolutely huge problem and a time bomb that’s been simmering under the surface for quite some time now.”

“Being on the frontline, what we’re encountering is an explosion in prescribed drugs from the GPs, and certainly on the black market.

“A lot of people have been accessing drugs from the dark web, and buying prescription drugs that way, at a real big discount, and selling them on the streets.

“They are extremely addictive and quite often the problem is they’re prescribed by medical professionals and so the people who are taking the prescriptions don’t realise how addictive these substances are.”

‘Primary care is overwhelmed’

Ewan Maule, lead pharmacist for the North East and North Cumbria, says there is a link between poverty, especially in declining industrial regions such as the North East, and chronic pain and this in turn leads to greater use of opioids in certain regions.

However, he says that medical understanding about the risk of opioids has evolved and NHS professionals need to take note.

He said: “The conversation is changing and we are starting to talk about non-drug treatments, non-medicines for treatment of chronic pain, because we know the harm that can be done by opioids certainly long-term, outweighs the benefits.

“We all need to re-educate ourselves. People like me, who were educated 20 years ago, need to change the way we think about things.”

Medical academics in the region agree and a programme is being launched in the North East to use GPs’ databases to contact people on high dose opioids offering help.

Professor Julia Newton, from the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We need to take notice that we’re an outlier in this area and begin to look at why that might be.

“Primary care is overwhelmed at the moment, time is very precious in short GP consultations. And I think sometimes it might just be easier when a patient wants a tablet, for a GP to prescribe or to continue to prescribe a medication.”

Offered heroin at a rehab centre

While getting hooked is easy, finding help to get off is a struggle. Addicts told us that the main rehab centre in Durham, called County Durham Substance Misuse Service – Centre for Change, often has dealers outside and sometimes inside.

One recovering addict said it was a great place to “go for a hit” rather than rehab.

When Sky News paid a visit, a social worker with our team was offered heroin by a client coming out of the premises.

Humankind, which runs the centre, said that it takes any reports of drug use and dealing within its centres “extremely seriously” and it has “strong, well-communicated policies in place prohibiting these acts”.

It added: “Anyone found to be dealing, sharing or using drugs on a Humankind site will be challenged and reported to the police, and any claims of drug dealing are investigated thoroughly.”

When it comes to the government’s levelling-up agenda, clearly this is another area that needs attention. Communities that have seen industrial decline and rising poverty have also added addiction to their list of problems.

Former addict Justine says: “How are they going to break the cycle? There’s no jobs, no help, no future, no dreams.”

And it seems medication is no substitute for investment, jobs and services.

UK

Robert Best death: Women in court after man’s body found in Inverclyde field

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Robert Best death: Women in court after man's body found in Inverclyde field

Two women have appeared in court charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice after a man was found dead in a field in Inverclyde.

The body of Robert Best, 50, was discovered near High Mathernock Farm, Kilmacolm, on the morning of 11 November.

He had been reported missing from Greenock the same day.

Dorothy Shields, 64, and Nicola Brisland, also known as Nicola Campbell, 41, were arrested and charged in connection with Mr Best’s death.

The pair appeared before Greenock Sheriff Court on Wednesday, where they made no plea to the charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The suspects, both of Port Glasgow, were granted bail ahead of their next court appearance, which is yet to be confirmed.

Andrew Brodie, 51, and Stephen Shields, 44, have already appeared in court in connection with the case.

The pair have each been charged with murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The suspects, both of Greenock, made no plea to the two separate charges last week and were remanded in custody ahead of their next court appearance.

A 45-year-old man previously arrested in connection with assault and a 41-year-old man arrested at the same time as the two women have both been released pending further enquiries.

Police Scotland previously said officers investigating Mr Best’s death were carrying out enquiries into a report of a disturbance in Lansbury Street, Greenock, which took place between 11pm on 10 November and 3am on 11 November.

A force spokesperson said: “Enquiries are ongoing.”

UK

Illegal mountain of waste next to river ‘utterly appalling’, says PM

Published

4 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Illegal mountain of waste next to river 'utterly appalling', says PM

Sir Keir Starmer has called the pile of fly-tipped illegal waste next to a river in Oxfordshire “utterly appalling” and said “all available powers” will be used to make those responsible cover the cost of the clean-up.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the pile of rubbish in a field beside the River Cherwell in Kidlington is now 150m long and up to 12m high, adding that water is “now lapping against the waste and carrying it into the river”.

Speaking at PMQs, Sir Ed said it is just one of many sites where organised criminal gangs are “illegally dumping their waste onto our countryside and getting away with it”.

“This is a shocking environmental emergency. So will he instruct the Environment Agency to clean it up now?” Sir Ed added.

Sir Keir responded in the House of Commons on Wednesday, calling the scenes “utterly appalling”.

The prime minister said: “A criminal investigation, as he knows, is under way. Specialist officers are tracking down those responsible.

“The Environmental Agency, in answer to this question, will use all available powers to make sure that the perpetrators cover the cost of the clean-up, which must now follow.”

Sir Keir added: “We have boosted the Environment Agency’s budget for tackling waste crime by 50%, giving councils new powers to seize and crush fly-tippers, vehicles and lawbreakers can now face up to five years in jail.”

Earlier this week, Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said recent heavy rainfall brought by Storm Claudia at the weekend had made the situation more urgent, and meant the rubbish was slowly floating towards the river, which eventually flows through Oxford and feeds the Thames.

Mr Miller also told Sky News on Sunday it was the first time he had seen anything on this scale, questioning whether the Environmental Agency had the resources to deal with it.

The cost of removing the waste is estimated to be more than the entire annual budget of the local council, which is about £25m.

With the site on a floodplain, Mr Miller listed what he saw as the three major environmental risks – waste being washed into the waterways, rain seeping through the waste and carrying toxins into the water and the danger of decomposing chemicals presenting a fire risk.

The site is adjacent to the A34, a busy road running through cities including Oxford and Birmingham.

He said the police had used a helicopter with a heat-seeking camera, and could see that some of the waste was beginning to decompose.

Mr Miller said he believed the Environment Agency was first made aware of the issue back in July.

He said he believed it was the work of “organised criminal gangs” and raised a “bigger systemic problem around the country”, with “dumps are cropping up in more and more places”.

He added: “My concern is the Environmental Agency lacks the resources to deal with criminal activity on this scale. I’m calling on the government to take action and ensure those who are dealing with such incidents have the powers they need to tackle it at source.”

Anna Burns, the Environment Agency’s director for the Thames area, said on Wednesday: “Most of the tipping happened before we were aware of it. As soon as we were aware, we acted quickly and decisively.”

Ms Burns said: “We are pursuing this as a criminal investigation and currently following a number of leads, and we are laser focused on pursing that investigation.

“And we are working with partners to understand the risks associated with the site.”

She said the agency will pursue the perpetrators to make them pay for the “blight on the landscape” they had caused.

UK

Oasis fan fell to his death at Wembley in ‘tragic accident’, coroner’s court hears

Published

5 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Oasis fan fell to his death at Wembley in 'tragic accident', coroner's court hears

An Oasis fan who fell to his death at Wembley Stadium was the victim of a “tragic accident”, a pre-inquest review has heard.

Bournemouth man Lee Claydon, 45, died following the incident at the London venue on 2 August.

Detective Sergeant James Raffin, from the Met Police, said there were “no concerns” from Mr Claydon’s toxicology report.

He also said that while Mr Claydon had drunk alcohol, this was “expected” and “normal for any of the people attending” the Oasis gig.

The force had also ruled out the possibility of suicide, he said.

He told Barnet Coroner’s Court the police had now completed their investigation into his death

He said: “From a police point of view, this is no longer a criminal prosecution.

“We do not suspect any third party involvement.

“This, from everything we have seen, was a tragic accident.

“From a police point of view, I would say our investigation is complete.”

DS Raffin said he was aware the family had concerns over the “circumstances on the night”, and said he would pass these on to officials at Brent Council.

The deceased’s father, Clive Claydon, 75, previously raised questions about barriers at the venue.

“It must have been horrific,” he said in August.

“All I know is there was beer everywhere, it’s slippery, he slipped apparently, we do not know the rest of it, there’s questions about the barriers.”

Brent Council will now review the police report.

Mr Claydon, a landscape gardener, fell during a gig that formed part of Oasis’ sell-out Live ’25 reunion tour – their first since splitting in 2009.

The inquest opening, which took place in September, heard that the father-of-three was taken to a medical centre in Wembley after the fall, where he was pronounced dead at 10.38pm.

A post-mortem examination on 6 August gave his preliminary medical cause of death as “multiple bodily injuries”.

Senior Coroner Andrew Walker told the review hearing the full inquest will take place on 26 February next year.

He said: “It looks like we are going to be in a position next February to have reports from the London Borough of Brent over the circumstances and also we will have by then the police investigation report.”

Oasis previously said in a statement: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show.

“Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.”

In a statement at the time of the fall, a Wembley spokesperson said: “The stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.

“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”