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.

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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Information

Appendix 7: Data tables from indicator charts

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