Vol. 462 No. 2
97 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Minister for Health whether he has been involved with general practitioners throughout the country in assessing the way in which they can play a wider role in the ongoing maintenance on methadone of persons who have been stabilised in drug treatment centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4492/96]
Limerick East): The Eastern Health Board and my Department are liaising on an ongoing basis with general practitioners on their role in the provision of methadone maintenance for drug misusers. In the Eastern Health Board area at present 25 general practitioners prescribe methadone to 683 misusers.
There has been a reluctance on the part of some general practitioners in the past to become involved in prescribing methadone which is perhaps understandable. In order to address this, discussions are at an advanced stage for the implementation of a pilot programme with the full support of professional organisations representing both general practitioners and pharmacists. The pilot programme will put in place all of the recommendations of the Protocol for the prescribing of methadone by general practitioners.
These recommendations include close co-operation between general practitioners and the community drug team for the area, and a treatment card for each patient who is admitted to detoxification maintenance programmes. Each card should be valid for a specific period. A list of all patients on methadone therapy should be maintained and operated by a liaison group — this recommendation is already in place. Community based pharmacists should only dispense methadone for individuals for whom they hold a treatment card. The group should continue to monitor and evaluate the proposed arrangements and their operation for an initial phase-in period until the measures recommended are operating satisfactorily.
