No changes planned for pain-relief plaster prescriptions

Monday 20 May 2024

There are no plans to change how a type of pain-relief plaster is prescribed in Jersey, despite prescriptions of the anaesthetic patches being almost entirely stopped in Guernsey due to high cost and insufficient evidence of effectiveness.

Lidocaine plasters – which contain a local anaesthetic that temporarily blocks pain messages from travelling along nerves – are prescribed at Jersey's General Hospital for free.

However, Guernsey's Committee for Health & Social Care last week announced that local doctors would be asked to "stop or greatly reduce" the prescription of lidocaine plasters.

The change is part of the Committee's ongoing evaluation of medicines in the island.

Guernsey's Chief Pharmacist, Teena Bhogal, explained that lidocaine plasters are not recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for nerve pain due to insufficient evidence.

Ms Bhogal said: "The evidence supporting the use of lidocaine plasters for nerve pain is limited, and they are relatively expensive compared to other pain treatments, making them less cost-effective."

Over £100,000 of public money was spent on the pain-relief patches in Guernsey in the last 12 months.

While Jersey is not covered formally by NICE, the organisation's guidelines are cited regularly as a benchmark for good care. There is no alternative local policy in the island.

Following queries from Express, Jersey's Chief Pharmacist confirmed that there are "no plans to change the current arrangement" for these pain-relief plasters in Jersey.

Debbie O’Driscoll explained: “Lidocaine plasters are currently only available via hospital prescriptions, and do not need to be paid for unless they are a private prescription.

"There are no plans to change the current arrangement.”

Express is awaiting a response to a Freedom of Information request which asks the Government how much lidocaine plasters cost Jersey's Health Department each year.