‘Absolutely frightening’: surge in ketamine cases hits UK urology wards

Key Highlights

• It is one of only three drugs, alongside magic mushrooms and hallucinogens, to have become used more regularly since 2015. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows that ketamine usage, while down slightly from the previous year, is still high.
• The numbers who say they have used the drug in the past month has increased by 251.85% since 2015, the greatest increase in the use of a single drug in that period. Ketamine use has become more prevalent over the past 10 yearsFew places have felt the effects of that increase more than urology departments.
• Chronic ketamine use can cause irreversible damage to the bladder and urinary tract, and departments have seen an increase in patients, with many of those treated being young adults and teenagers. Alison Downey, a consultant urologist in South Yorkshire, says ketamine abuse is worse than she has ever seen, with admissions pushing medical centres and hospitals to their limits.“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, its an addiction and we can’t do anything about that”, said Downey, who has worked as a consultant for more than five years.“It’s an awful problem at the moment, and the epicentre seems to be Barnsley,” she said.
• “In 2021, there were 11 attendances in Barnsley A&E for ketamine-related issues, and that was for the whole year.