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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Jun 1991

Vol. 409 No. 4

Written Answers. - Prescribing of Controlled Drugs.

Bernard Allen

Question:

215 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the new measures being introduced by his Department to deal with alleged over-prescribing of controlled drugs by doctors; and if he will outline the steps being implemented to deal with the over prescribing by medical practitioners currently handled under section 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984.

The Deputy will be aware that the Government have recently published their Strategy to Prevent Drug Misuse. This strategy was compiled with the assistance of the national co-ordinating committee on drug abuse and after extensive consultation and discussion with the various statutory and non-statutory agencies involved in this area. It is the first time that the Government have enunciated their policy for combating drug misuse in a single document and as such examines the area in a most comprehensive manner.

Included in the recommendations is a proposal to dramatically improve the primary health care role of the general practitioner vis-á-vis the drug misuser.

It is planned that the doctor will have access to a specialist for assessment-treatment for his patients and following referral back to the general practitioner he will, as a pivotal part of the community drug team proposed in the strategy, have the capacity to deal more effectively with that patient. Under these arrangements it is proposed that the support available to the general practitioner treating drug misusers will include counselling services, laboratory back-up and adequate security measures in surgeries. The services of the drug treatment center will also be available to provide various support services.

In this manner it is hoped that the incidence of general practitioners who over-prescribe will be substantially reduced. My Department, however, are in line with the recommendations of the strategy, currently examining the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984 with a view to streamlining some of the more cumbersome provisions particularly where rapid intervention is required.

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