The HIPE (Hospital In-Patient Enquiry) scheme is a computer-based health information system, managed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in association with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE). It collects demographic, medical, and administrative data on all admissions, discharges, and deaths from acute general hospitals in Ireland. 

Each HIPE discharge record represents one episode of care; each discharge of a patient, whether from the same or a different hospital, with the same or a different diagnosis, gives rise to a separate HIPE record. The scheme therefore facilitates analysis of hospital activity rather than of the incidence of disease. HIPE does not record information on individuals who attend emergency departments but are not admitted as inpatients. Monitoring of drug-related acute emergencies in the Irish context refers to all admissions for non-fatal overdoses to acute general hospitals in Ireland.

Introduction

The main cause of death among people with opioid use disorder (OUD) is drug overdose. OAT is a proven intervention to reduce both drug-related and all-cause mortality. The advantages of OAT can be negated by using other prescribed and non-prescribed substances at the same time during OAT, such as heroin, cocaine or street benzodiazepines and/or other prescribed medications. Polysubstance use is associated with treatment discontinuation and is known as a risk factor for drug overdose. Despite this, there is limited research on the effects of polysubstance use among patients in OAT.

An Irish study sought to address this gap in the research by aiming to (1) examine trends in drug positivity rates in amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine and opioids (heroin, morphine and codeine); and (2) identify trends in polysubstance positivity rates for drug combinations associated with increased risk of drug overdose including (a) methadone and benzodiazepines; (b) methadone, benzodiazepines and opioids; (c) methadone, benzodiazepines and cocaine; and (d) methadone, benzodiazepines, opioids and cocaine.¹

On 8 May 2025, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, together with Jim O’Callaghan, Minister for Justice, launched the national awareness campaign for the DRIVE (Drug-related intimidation and violence engagement) project.^1,2 The key messages associated with the campaign were that drug-related intimidation can happen to anyone but there is help, and by visiting the website driveproject.ie people can find information about safe and confidential services in their local area.

A recent study has revealed a sharp increase in cocaine use and associated health harms in Ireland over the past two decades. Conducted by a team of researchers from the Health Research Board (HRB); the School of Public Health, University College Cork (UCC); Trinity College Dublin; and the Health Service Executive (HSE), the study used data from five national databases to track trends from 2000 to 2023.

In this research, which has been published in the journal BMC Public Health, findings show that last-year prevalence of cocaine use among 15–64-year-olds in Ireland more than doubled, rising from 1.1% in 2002–03 to 2.4% in 2023.¹