July 2, 2025

The WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge on medicines safety aims to reduce medicines related harm by 50% over a five year period. Under the Transforming Medicines Safety Advisory Group initiative, a Health and Social Care Quality Improvement (HSCQI) medications safety collaborative was established to consider opioid prescribing. MOIC worked closely with HSCQI on the evaluation of this programme.

This programme aimed to foster collaboration between primary and secondary care teams, focusing on improving opioid prescribing for non-malignant pain. Forty participants were enrolled in 9 project teams, including primary, secondary and cross-sector teams, 30 participants successfully attained their Level 2 QI. Each team successfully designed and conducted an improvement project within their scope of practice.

Feedback from programme participants, HSCQI programme delivery team and HSCQI mentors was achieved through a mixed method approach and confirmed:

• Collaboration was achieved; OICP successfully created an environment for learning and improvement in prescribing practices.
• Short to medium term benefits were achieved; projects were completed with positive outcomes, indicating better opioid management.

While long-term effects are yet to be fully established, continuing efforts to scale and spread these innovations are necessary for lasting change in Northern Ireland’s health landscape. It is essential to leverage established networks, programme momentum and policy motivation to achieve long-lasting improvements in opioid prescribing across Northern Ireland.