Barriers to management of opioid withdrawal in hospitals in England: a document analysis of hospital policies on the management of substance dependence

Original research
by
Harris, Magdalena et al

Release Date

2022

Geography

UK

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

Yes

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Yes

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

Opioid withdrawal contributes to premature discharge. We sought to understand the barriers to timely provision of opioid substitution therapy (OST), which helps to prevent opioid withdrawal, in acute hospitals in England.

A plain English summary of this article is available.

Findings/Key points

Many hospitals in England have policies that likely prevent timely and effective OST. This was underpinned by the ‘low-risk’ categorisation of OST delay in the ODMT. Delays to continuity of OST between community and hospital settings may contribute to inpatient opioid withdrawal and increase the risk of discharge against medical advice.

Design/methods

Policy analysis

doi.org

Keywords

Hospitals
Policy/Regulatory