Methadone drug treatment and distribution statistics: FOI release

Information requested

1. How many people in Scotland currently receive methadone as part of addiction treatment? Please break this down to regions where possible, and also highlight how many of the total are inside prisons. 

2. How many people have been receiving methadone for: a) less than 1 year b) more than 1 year but less than 5 years c) more than 5 years but less than 10 years d) more than 10 years but less than 15 years e) more than 15 years?

3. How many people received methadone as part of an addiction treatment in Scotland in each year for the past 10 years?

4. Which pharmacist/chemist companies have received money from the Scottish Government for distributing methadone over the past 10 years?

5. How much money was paid to each of these pharmacist/chemist companies as part of the methadone programme in Scotland in each year for the past 10 years - please detail the purpose of payments where possible.

Response

1. How many people in Scotland currently receive methadone as part of addiction treatment? Please break this down to regions where possible, and also highlight how many of the total are inside prisons.

I attach a copy of some of the information you requested. While the exact number of people receiving Opioid Substitution Treatments (OSTs) in Scotland is not known, the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) website provides estimated figures from 2019/20 under the Methadone patient estimates tab:

Treatment for drug misuse - ScotPHO

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

The attached spreadsheet details the numbers and percentages of those receiving different OSTs across Scottish prisons. This data is taken from a snapshot from 14 July 2021.

2. How many people have been receiving methadone for: a) less than 1 year b) more than 1 year but less than 5 years c) more than 5 years but less than 10 years d) more than 10 years but less than 15 years e) more than 15 years?

The Scottish Government’s aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested under the terms of section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held). This is because Scottish Government is not required to provide information that it does not have or collate.

3. How many people received methadone as part of an addiction treatment in Scotland in each year for the past 10 years?

Some of the information you have requested is available from the ScotPHO website at the following address. While the exact number of people who have received OSTs in Scotland in the past 10 years is not known, the ScotPHO website provides estimated figures.

(https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/).

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

4. Which pharmacist/chemist companies have received money from the Scottish Government for distributing methadone over the past 10 years?

5. How much money was paid to each of these pharmacist/chemist companies as part of the methadone programme in Scotland in each year for the past 10 years - please detail the purpose of payments where possible.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the ScotPHO website under the ‘Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) Drug Prescribing – Community’ section at the following address:

(https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/).

As is stated on this webpage, OST prescribing analyses to 2017/18 included information on the costs of methadone prescribing. Due to quality and completeness issues for fees associated with the supervised consumption of methadone, this information was not included in the 2018/19 update of the OST prescribing statistics. Following further investigations it has become apparent that, due to the increasing use of buprenorphine and variations in the way that NHS Boards supply fee information, it is no longer possible to publish comprehensive or robust OST cost information. Therefore, until further notice, the OST prescribing statistics will no longer include methadone/OST cost information. All enquiries about the financial cost of OST prescribing should be addressed to territorial NHS Boards.

While it’s not possible to provide a full picture on methadone service payments, some remuneration of service payments are reported in contractor activity data for dispensing fees and supervision fees starting from 2014. This information can be found at the following web address:

https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/community-pharmacy-contractor-activity

The following website provides contractor names against CP codes to help understand the data provided above:

(https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/dispenser-location-contact-details).

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI - 202100230158 - Information Released - Table

File type

Excel document

File size

16.7 kB