A scheme which reduces the amount of prescription painkillers given to prisoners has won an award.

The chronic pain team at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), were recognised for their work ​​​​to lower the amount of drug misuse at Elmley and Swaleside prisons on Sheppey.

The team helped reduce non-opiate pain killers being prescribed, which resulted in fewer opportunities for prisoners to misuse the drugs or trade with fellow inmates.

The system was also recently introduced at the prison in Fort Road, Rochester, where the prescribing of these drugs dropped from 5.5% to 3.5%.

A multi-disciplinary team (MDT) is put in place if an inmate with chronic pain needs to make a change to their prescription.

A GP, a pharmacist and a pain practitioner must all be present to make the decision. While alternative methods of pain relief are also offered, including nurse-led self-help pain clinics which give prisoners drug-free helping techniques.

Before the introduction of the scheme, clinicians had sometimes experienced challenging behaviour from prisoners when they would not prescribe the drugs they wanted.

KCHFT prison pain practitioner Julie Phillips said: “Gabapentinoids (non-opiate pain killers) can have a mood-altering effect and give a sense of euphoria. They can be high-risk if misused and used with other drugs.

“Introducing the new team at Rochester Prison has had a marked impact. Prisoners soon realised this was the only way to have high-risk medications prescribed or modified so demand for these drugs has reduced. It’s a good example of joint working and prisoners are better supported due to the service we provide.”

Julie has found chronic pain to be widespread among prisoners, with the causes different to the general population. People are often suffering from a younger age and as a result of old injuries, which may not have been treated.

She said: “This is a very vulnerable group of patients. There can be a history of trauma or abuse. Some prisoners may have drifted in and out of substance abuse, they might have been homeless and had poor access to education and healthcare.

“Add on to this injuries they might have sustained before entering prison. Their ability to engage with post-operative care or rehabilitation might have been limited and they might even add to their injuries through various forms of self-harm.”

Rochester Prisoner governor Dean Gardiner said: “It has been pleasing to see healthcare and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service working together to improve the service for patients, while at the same time ensuring the use of medication is appropriate to the person's needs.

“Patients are provided with alternative methods to control pain that do not always involve medication, which will help prepare them for release and help to reduce the risk of re-offending.

“This is a pioneering service at HMP Rochester and I am delighted that we have been able to make a difference to the lives of those in our care.”

The scheme was highly commended in the PrescQIPP CIC awards in the patient safety and over-prescribing category.