Developing a System-wide Approach to Opioid Use in Elective Surgery
A Secondary Care Opioid Reduction Network has been set up across the region aiming to address the inconsistencies across Trusts in opioid prescribing and guardianship when patients are admitted for surgery, to ensure that prescribing protocols are harmonised and good practice is shared across all hospital trusts in the region.

![]() | All 8 NENC secondary care Trusts have a pharmacist representative on the NENC Secondary Care Opioid Reduction Network. HI NENC have facilitated the relationships and collaboration |

The HI NENC Pain team hosted an event in November 2022 where work from the Surgery Department of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was presented. A quality improvement poster was also submitted for display at the conference from the Surgical Team at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust.
HI NENC linked the two surgical pharmacists from these Trusts to share work they had been undertaking and this provided the catalyst for the creation of the Network. The group now has representation from across the region from all eight of the secondary care Trusts. HI NENC also facilitated for other allied health professional groups to join the network such as physiotherapists and nurses.
A Surgical Pharmacist from Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust has also joined the recently established Clinical Pain Network where she presented her work on the development of the NENC Secondary Care Opioid Reduction Pharmacist Network across the region. This was also presented at the Q4 National Patient Safety Improvement Programme Opioid Action Learning Set.
Work undertaken by the Network to date includes:
- OUCh – Opioid Use Change video – used in Trusts to train the medical and pharmacy teams.
- Post-operative modified release to immediate release opioid switch.
- Patient Opioid Leaflet – Risks associated with opioids – British Pain Society ‘Managing your pain after surgery’ leaflet has been implemented across Trusts.
- Reduction in codeine/morphine sulphate liquid quantities supplied to patients following daycase surgery.
- Opioid stewardship groups are now in place at Trust level.
- Links made with PCN pharmacists.
- Work has started on improved communication to primary care.
- One Trust has switched from 100ml to 20ml morphine sulphate 10mg/5ml liquid bottles to be given to appropriate patients on discharge.