Abstract: The 2022-23 annual report sets out a summary of the achievements of the Surrey Civilian-Military Partnership Board (SCMPB) and its partners during the year to ensure the Armed Forces Covenant is implemented and our Armed Forces community are not disadvantaged by their service. Partners on the SCMPB include 11 Security Force Assistance Brigade and HQ SE, the Lord-Lieutenant, South East Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (SERFCA), Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, borough and district councils, Surrey Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue, Service Charities, Diocese of Guildford and our partners in health, education and business. November 2022 saw the Armed Forces Act 2021 become enacted and a key focus of the year has been to ensure all public bodies in scope of the Act were aware of the new duty of 'due regard' in relation to education, health and housing provision.
Abstract: Context: In response to the opioid crisis, federal guidelines were implemented, including the Veterans Health Administration's (VA) Opioid Safety Initiative in 2013. The impact of policies on patients near the end of life is unknown. Objective: Examine temporal trends in opioid prescribing, pain, and opioid overdoses among Veterans near the end of life. Methods: Retrospective, time series analysis of VA decedents between October 2009 and September 2018 whose next-of-kin participated in VA's Bereaved Family Survey (BFS). Using multivariate regression to adjust for sociodemographic and clinical covariates, we examined temporal trends in outpatient opioid prescribing, uncontrolled pain based on BFS report, and opioid overdose-related hospitalizations, in the last month of life, overall and by clinical diagnosis (cancer versus non-cancer). Results: Among 79,409 decedents, mean daily outpatient opioid dose in morphine milligram equivalents in the last month of life decreased from 4.6 mg in 2010 to 2.1 mg in 2018 (adjusted change -0.20 mg/year; P