The total number of patients prescribed dependency-forming medications in England fell by more than 2,000 between June and September this year, latest figures have shown.

But huge variation persists between the most and least deprived areas of the country, with 79.3% more patients being prescribed dependency-forming medications in the most deprived areas of the country compared to those in the least deprived.

Some 1,185,076 patients living in the 20% most deprived areas were prescribed at least one opioid pain medicine, gabapentinoid, benzodiazepine or Z-drug, compared with 661,120 in the least deprived areas.

How many patients were prescribed dependency-forming medicines in Q2?

In the second quarter of 2024/25 (July to September), a total of 4,399,109 identified patients across England were prescribed dependency-forming medicines including opioid pain medicine, Gabapentinoids, Benzodiazepines, and Z-drugs.

This was down from the 4,401,275 prescribed these medications from April to June 2024.

How many items of dependency-forming medicines were prescribed in Q2?

While the overall number of items of dependency-forming medicines varies throughout the year, the second quarter of 2024 saw a 0.26% increase year-on-year from the same time last year (16,827,089 items prescribed in Q2 2024).

This is in the context of a 1% decrease in items since 2015/16.

Despite more items, the cost to the NHS of dependency-forming medicines decreased this year, at £93,501,702 in the second quarter of 2024/25 - a 1.02% decrease from quarter two 2023/24 when the cost was £94,139,411.

Older women were the most likely to be prescribed dependency-forming medicines, female patients aged 60 to 64 making up 287,000 of the identified patients in September 2024.

The most commonly prescribed dependency-forming medications were opioids, with 9,848,728 million items prescribed in Q2 of 2024.


In March last year, NHS England launched a framework for pharmacists, prescribers and ICBs aiming to reduce inappropriate prescribing of dependency forming drugs.