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Publication - Advice and guidance

Quality prescribing for Benzodiazepines and z-drugs: guide for improvement 2024 to 2027

Published
14 August 2024
Directorate
Health and Social Care Finance Directorate, +1 more … Mental Health Directorate
Topic
Health and social care
ISBN
9781836016243

Benzodiazepine and z-drug prescribing continues to slowly reduce across Scotland. Despite this, benzodiazepine and z-drug prescribing remains a challenge. This guide aims to further improve the care of individuals receiving these medicines and promote a holistic approach to person-centred care.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Appendix 7: Data tables from indicator charts

Table 8: NHS board benzodiazepine and z-drug prescribing by defined daily dose (DDD*) per 1000 list size per day
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Scotland
1993/94 35 27 31 24 32 22 - - 36 31 21 10 34 23 31
1994/95 33 27 31 24 31 21 - - 36 31 21 10 35 24 31
1995/96 30 24 29 24 30 21 - - 34 31 20 11 33 23 30
1996/97 30 23 30 24 30 22 - - 35 32 19 12 33 23 30
1997/98 30 22 32 26 29 23 - - 36 32 18 13 33 24 31
1998/99 30 22 32 26 28 24 - - 35 30 18 14 34 24 31
1999/00 29 22 31 27 27 25 - - 35 27 17 15 32 25 30
2000/01 28 22 32 28 26 26 - - 35 26 15 14 32 26 30
2001/02 27 22 33 28 25 25 - - 35 26 14 14 32 27 30
2002/03 26 23 32 28 24 25 36 23 35 26 14 14 32 29 30
2003/04 25 23 33 28 24 25 36 23 34 25 14 14 32 31 29
2004/05 24 23 33 27 23 25 35 23 33 25 14 15 30 30 29
2005/06 23 22 32 26 23 25 35 23 32 24 14 14 28 32 28
2006/07 22 21 31 26 23 24 35 23 32 23 13 12 26 34 27
2007/08 21 19 29 25 23 23 34 21 32 23 14 11 25 34 27
2008/09 21 17 28 25 23 22 33 21 32 22 13 10 24 34 26
2009/10 20 17 28 25 23 20 31 21 32 22 12 11 23 33 25
2010/11 20 18 28 25 23 20 30 20 31 22 13 11 22 33 25
2011/12 19 16 27 24 21 19 29 19 30 22 13 11 22 32 24
2012/13 18 16 25 23 21 18 27 17 29 21 12 10 20 28 23
2013/14 18 15 24 21 20 18 25 16 29 21 12 10 20 26 22
2014/15 18 15 23 19 17 18 24 15 28 21 11 10 19 25 21
2015/16 18 16 24 17 14 17 22 14 27 20 11 10 18 24 20
2016/17 18 15 23 17 12 17 21 14 26 19 10 9 18 23 19
2017/18 17 15 22 16 12 17 20 13 25 18 10 8 17 21 18
2018/19 17 15 22 16 11 17 19 12 24 16 9 8 16 19 17
2019/20 17 14 21 16 11 16 19 12 24 15 9 8 15 20 17
2020/21 16 14 21 16 10 16 19 11 23 14 8 7 14 20 17
2021/22 16 13 20 16 10 16 19 11 22 14 7 7 14 19 16
2022/23 15 14 19 16 10 16 20 11 22 13 8 7 13 19 16
2023/24 15 14 18 15 9 15 19 11 21 12 8 7 12 18 15
Table 9: Proportion of adults prescribed a benzodiazepine or z-drug (B-Z) for 8 weeks or less, or longer than 8 weeks, by NHS board, Scotland 2023/24 (Chart 2)
NHS Board Long-term Short-term
NHS Ayrshire & Arran 3.10 3.78
NHS Borders 3.00 4.30
NHS Dumfries & Galloway 3.48 3.62
NHS Fife 2.95 3.72
NHS Forth Valley 2.05 3.37
NHS Grampian 2.36 2.96
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde 3.63 4.03
NHS Highland 2.46 3.90
NHS Lanarkshire 4.04 4.04
NHS Lothian 2.15 3.16
NHS Orkney 1.76 3.60
NHS Shetland 1.80 3.38
NHS Tayside 2.61 3.49
NHS Western Isles 3.73 4.56
Scotland 2.94 3.62
Table 10: Adults prescribed a benzodiazepine or z-drug (B-Z) long-term (>8 weeks) as a proportion of adults prescribed a B-Z (Chart 3)
NHS Board Jan to Mar 2022 Jan to Mar 2023 Jan to Mar 2024
NHS Ayrshire & Arran 59.8% 60.3% 60.9%
NHS Borders 54.0% 55.7% 56.0%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway 64.8% 63.7% 64.2%
NHS Fife 59.4% 58.8% 60.2%
NHS Forth Valley 53.6% 52.5% 53.4%
NHS Grampian 59.2% 59.0% 60.1%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde 61.3% 60.5% 62.4%
NHS Highland 53.8% 52.5% 52.8%
NHS Lanarkshire 63.9% 63.8% 65.3%
NHS Lothian 53.6% 52.4% 54.8%
NHS Orkney 48.8% 47.1% 46.5%
NHS Shetland 54.2% 49.2% 50.6%
NHS Tayside 58.3% 56.7% 58.4%
NHS Western Isles 56.7% 59.2% 56.4%
Scotland 59.2% 58.6% 60.0%

Contact

Email: EPandT@gov.scot

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