NEWS
dRUg mISUSE StAtIStIcS coNtINUE to cAUSE AlARm
the department of health has published statistics from the NI drug misuse database. the bulletin summarises information on people presenting to services with problem drug misuse and relates to the twelve-month period ending 31 march 2016.
Among the key findings: • In 2015/16, a total of 2,229 clients presented to services for problem drug misuse and gave their consent for their details to be included in the dmd.
• four fifths of clients (79 per cent) were male, with a third (35 per cent) aged 18-25 and 17 per cent aged over 40 years old. for female clients, 29 per cent were aged 18-25 and 32 per cent aged over 40
• two fifths of those presenting for treatment (40 per cent) took just one drug, while a fifth (23 per cent) took two drugs. A fifth of clients (19 per cent) took four or more drugs
• over a quarter of all clients (26 per cent) used at least one opioid analgesic drug, with 20 per cent of all clients using one as their main drug
• the most commonly reported drug used was cannabis, which was used by 66 per cent of clients) followed by benzodiazepines (37 per cent) and cocaine (35 per cent)
• cannabis was used by 40 per cent of clients as their main drug of misuse in 2015/16, similar to the figure in 2014/15
• Between 2005/06 and 2015/16, use of cocaine among clients rose from by ten per cent to 35 per cent, while use of ecstasy and heroin both fell
10 - PhARmAcY IN focUS PhARmAcY hElPINg hoSPItAl
When local dJ, Stephen clements, put a request out on q Radio for christmas decorations for Antrim Area hospital, the paediatric department got an extra special festive present!
the fact that there wasn’t a budget to decorate the children’s ward had led Stephen to make the request live on air but, by the time Profile director, Jason Andrews, called in to offer to help, the ward had been snowed under with donations!
Jason Andrews, publisher of Pharmacy in Focus with nurse Claire Higgins at Antrim Area Hospital
‘I asked the nurse, claire higgins, who had made the original approach to q, if there was anything else we could help with,’ Jason said. ‘She told me that their tv/dvd player wasn’t working, so I approached a few colleagues from Urban Pharmacy, mcKays Pharmacy, and maguires Pharmacy and, together with Profile, we purchased a smart television, dvd player and large selection of dvds for the kids. We were all delighted to help!’
NEW SERvIcE AImS to ImPRovE PAtIENt ExPERIENcE
health minister michelle o’Neill has officially launched online services for booking gP appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions from gP Practices.
the minister visited grove Wellbeing centre in Belfast to see how accessing services online can help improve patient experience and reduce bureaucracy in primary care services.
the health and Social care Board has been working with NI direct to expand public facing online services and make them more readily available to citizens of the north of Ireland.
Booking a gP appointment and ordering repeat prescriptions online are now available from 200 of 344 gP practices in the north.
‘As I set out in ‘health and Wellbeing 2016 - delivering together’,’ the minister said at the launch, ‘modern information technology offers us tremendous potential to improve how we interact with people to improve services for them. It will not only be
Health Minister Michelle O’Neill joins Dr John Durkan from
Parkside Surgery at Grove Wellbeing Centre to launch online services
more convenient for patients, but will also save gP practices time and resources in dealing with appointment booking and repeat prescriptions.
‘Since April 2016, 93,910 gP appointments have been booked and 547,715 prescriptions have been ordered online. In october 2016, 14,125 gP practice appointments were booked online - an increase of almost 1,900 from August 2016. In october 2016, 79,981 repeat prescriptions were ordered online - which is slightly over 17 per cent of
the total prescriptions issued by gPs each month. It is clear these services are needed and well used already, so this expansion is particularly welcome.’
through nidirect, patients can now search for their gP practice, identify if it provides online booking and/or a repeat prescription service and then click through to a Patient Access portal and securely logon to use the service. Patients need to register to use the Patient Access Service through their gP practice.
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