New pathway helps patients reduce high-dose opioid use

A co-designed care pathway is helping patients reduce high-dose opioid use and improve their wellbeing while strengthening collaboration across local health and care services.

Opioid use reduced by an average of 33 per cent among those who engaged with the pathway, with some patients becoming completely opioid-free. 

Medication Awareness Pathway Support (MAPS) was developed in Fleetwood, Lancashire, through a partnership between Health Innovation North West Coast, Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), Fleetwood Primary Care Network (PCN), and Inspire Lancashire, a specialist drug and alcohol service. 

The programme was created in response to a growing public health challenge: high-dose opioid prescribing can lead to dependency, overdose and long-term health complications, while patients often fall between primary care and local authorities when seeking support to reduce their medication.  

MAPS addresses this gap through a shared-care, biopsychosocial model that brings together primary care and specialist services. Patients receive structured medication reviews led by a pharmacist, alongside access to psychosocial and recovery support tailored to their individual needs, goals and circumstances. 

Health Innovation North West Coast led both the co-design and independent evaluation of the pathway, creating a collaborative and supportive environment for partners to test and refine a new approach to care.  

Evaluation findings demonstrate strong impact among patients, clinicians and the wider system. Patients reported feeling more supported and better able to manage their medication, while clinicians highlighted improved confidence and closer working across teams. 

Laura Boland, Head of Evaluation and Insights, Health Innovation North West Coast, said: “MAPS shows how real-world, independent evaluation can help systems design, test and scale new models of care. By combining robust data with patient and clinician insight, we’ve been able to demonstrate both the impact of the pathway and the conditions needed for successful wider rollout.” 

The pathway demonstrates the value of coordinated, multidisciplinary approaches to complex challenges such as opioid dependence, providing a replicable model for wider adoption across integrated care systems.  

Faye Prescott, Medicines Optimisation Lead for Morecambe Bay, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “It has truly been a fruitful and positive experience working together with Health Innovation North West Coast, Paul Hemsil, Inspire and the Fleetwood PCN pharmacist Jonathon Churchill.

"Health Innovation North West Coast has done an exceptional job in creating a psychologically safe environment for open discussion, and fostering a productive and supportive atmosphere for our project. I look forward to continuing our collaboration and achieving even more together with other projects like this.” 

To view the full findings, you can read the MAPS evaluation on the Health Innovation North West Coast website. 

You can also hear directly from partners involved in the programme by watching the case study videos or viewing a past webinar. 

• Case study video: Full version or Short overview  

Health Innovation webinar 

• Industry partnerships and collaboration: Reducing high-dose opioid harm through a co-designed patient-centred pathway: Recording and Powerpoint presentation from 24 June 2026 

For further details contact:

• Programme inquiries - lscicb.medicinesmb@nhs.net 

• Real-world evaluation – info@healthinnovationnwc.nhs.uk   

This work was funded through a joint working agreement with the pharmaceutical company Camurus, manufacturers of the opioid substitution therapy Buvidal. Camurus did not input into the pathway or evaluation design and the evaluation findings are independent and impartial.