NICE calls for new controls on opiate use

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has urged medical professionals in England and Scotland not to leave patients in debilitating pain because of concerns over opiate use.

It revealed that many patients with advanced cancer and other extremely painful conditions are being left "under-treated" because of the stigma attached to drugs such as morphine and oxycodone.

Patients are often concerned that use of opiates will lead to addiction or negative side effects, according to the NICE report.

The industry body urged doctors to discuss these fears with patients rather than taking the treatment option off the table completely.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for clinical practice at NICE, said: "Many people with chronic or advanced conditions will experience a high level of pain which can only be treated by opioids such as morphine."

Speaking at the NICE Annual Conference in Birmingham, health secretary Andrew Lansley recently pledged to increase the organisation's power to shape the future of the NHS.