NSW Labor has criticised the Berejiklian Government for failing to adopt its plan to introduce real-time monitoring in pharmacies.

Mr Lawrence was responding to Pennington Institute research published this week by the Daily Liberal showing 33 people died of drug-related death in Dubbo and the surrounding region from 2012 to 2016.

The research also found that 142 people die every month from accidental drug overdoses.

The Country Labor candidate said while Victoria was leading the nation on the initiative, the Berejiklian Government was “dragging its feet” on implementing the system – which would identify people who are misusing opioids.

“Real-time prescription monitoring will be a tool for doctors and pharmacists to make safer decisions about whether to prescribe or dispense high-risk medicine,” Mr Lawrence said.

A NSW Coroner’s report released last month criticised a lack of State Government action on the matter. 

Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame called on the NSW government to urgently introduce real-time prescription monitoring like Victoria, rather than wait for the Federal Government to act. She said that it was both “frustrating and depressing” that NSW did not have a standalone plan.

Dr Julaine Allan Group Manager of Research at Lives Lived Well, a not-for-profit organisation working to help people impacted by drugs or alcohol, said misuse of prescription opioids is common with around 10 per cent of the population taking too many at some point in their lives.

“Opioid dependence is a significant problem. Two per cent of the population have an opioid dependence, about the same number of people as methamphetamines,” she said.

A spokesperson for the NSW Government said it supports real time prescription monitoring but wants to work together with other states and territories to ensure there is no cross border pharmacy hopping.

“NSW is scoping the best system for NSW and its integration with a National Data Exchange,” the spokesperson said.