Vol. 476 No. 7
47 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Health, further to his reply to Question No. 74 of 13 February 1997, the reason there are 200 persons attending one pharmacy for methadone and only one attending pharmacy number five; and if this has changed, with eight pharmacies dispensing methadone in postal district eight. [4810/97]
Limerick East): Methadone can be prescribed under the general medical services scheme for medical card holders or on a private prescription for those attending a general practitioner on a private basis and information is only available on the methadone dispensed through the general medical services scheme. At present, once methadone is prescribed by a registered general practitioner the patient holding that prescription may go to any pharmacist he or she pleases in order to have the prescription dispensed. In the past methadone has been available only through a small number of pharmacies, and for that reason these pharmacies have built up a large client group. The pharmacy referred to by the Deputy with a large client group is one such pharmacy.
The Eastern Health Board is actively recruiting other pharmacists to become involved in dispensing, but while it has obtained the goodwill of these pharmacists, it cannot at present dictate that drug misusers use any specific premises. The pharmacy referred to by the Deputy does not exclusively provide a methadone service for the Eastern Health Board, rather it dispenses methadone as it would any other medication on foot of a properly written doctor's prescription. At present any general practitioner can prescribe methadone and this methadone can be dispensed at any retail pharmacist.
My Department has requested the Eastern Health Board makes a special effort to encourage pharmacists other than the one singled out with 200 clients to dispense to drug misusers. However, the system is still dependent on clients opting to use other pharmacists. To date there has not been any significant increase in the number of clients going to other pharmacies in the area.
It is the board's policy to encourage drug users to use the nearest chemist to where they live rather than transferring to another area. Pharmacists who are becoming involved in dispensing need reassurance that dispensing of methadone to drug misusers will not disrupt the rest of their business. They commence on a small scale dealing with one or two clients and if everything is satisfactory, they will extend that service to others. Indeed, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in its policy document of October 1996 recommended that all pharmacists should be encouraged to dispense methadone for patients.
The Eastern Health Board has met with local public representatives to discuss how treatment facilities can be extended in the area. It intends to meet this group again in the coming weeks.
