Britain 'close to breaking point' as ketamine hospital admissions surge
Recreational use of the class B dissociative drug in the UK has soared over the past decade by 251.85 per cent - the greatest increase in the use of any single drug during that period
Urology departments across Britain are close to "breaking point" due to a sharp rise in ketamine-related hospital admissions in recent years, experts have warned.
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Recreational use of the class B dissociative drug in the UK has soared over the past decade by 251.85 per cent - the greatest increase in the use of any single drug during that period.
It is one of only three drugs, alongside magic mushrooms and hallucinogens, to have been used more regularly since 2015.
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Urology departments have borne the brunt of this rise, due to an increase in patients suffering bladder and urinary tract problems caused by chronic ketamine use.
This has pushed medical centres and hospitals to their limits, with one medic claiming ketamine abuse is "worse than ever".
Alison Downey, a consultant urologist in South Yorkshire, told The Guardian: “We’re already stretched really thin as it is, and it’s been a massive increase that we’re just not equipped for.
"Although it causes urology problems, ketamine abuse is not a urology issue — it’s an addiction, and we can’t do anything about that."
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows that ketamine use, while down slightly from the previous year, remains high.
Ms Downey believes the drug’s low street price is driving high usage, with many cases involving young people who began using ketamine as a coping mechanism during Covid lockdowns five years ago.
Many who take it are still school-age, she added, with stories of "kids pooling their pocket money together to buy some ketamine” and then taking “small amounts in school toilets”.
Nadir Osman, a consultant urological surgeon in Sheffield, said not enough ketamine users understand the long-term effects that consistent use can have on their bodies.
Some end up on waiting lists for surgery but do not go on to have the procedure because they continue using the drug as pain relief.
"Ketamine is a unique drug because it seems like there are no side effects, but it’s more complicated than that," Dr Osman said.
"It slowly impacts the bladder and the liver, and then the urinary tract. It takes a couple of years to begin noticing these effects, but once you do, they’re largely irreversible."