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Survey of services John Perrott - APPGITA

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Staffordshire PCT NO<br />

and North Staffordshire PCT NO and the letter from the Clinical secretary points out that despite the need<br />

and also their obvious understanding <strong>of</strong> the problem, there are no <strong>services</strong>.<br />

Apologies for the delay in responding to your email, however the email account that your<br />

correspondence had been forwarded to had been temporarily suspended during a IT transfer.<br />

I have liaised with the Head <strong>of</strong> Medicines Management over your query and he has advised<br />

that there is no specialised service to assist with the withdrawal <strong>of</strong> the prescribed<br />

medications. Discussing the withdrawal with the patients GP is the first step. All Gp's have<br />

guidance on the withdrawal <strong>of</strong> these types <strong>of</strong> medication and can assist in the process.<br />

If the issue is that this has already been discussed with the GP and the advice provided has<br />

not been helpful, then if the GP's contact details are provided we can discuss that with the GP<br />

practice directly, or our <strong>of</strong>fice can assist with locating a new GP for the patient to register with.<br />

I hope this has helped, however if you would like clarification or further assistance, please do<br />

not hesitate to contact our <strong>of</strong>fice.<br />

Kind regards<br />

Michelle Kiernan<br />

Complaints & Enquiries Officer<br />

Complaints & Enquiries Office<br />

NHS Staffordshire Commissioning Support Services<br />

Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in my response, but I hope I now have the<br />

answers to your questions; please see the attached and the copy response below.<br />

Kind Regards,<br />

Cath Barratt<br />

Cath Barratt<br />

Admin Assistant<br />

NHS Staffordshire Commissioning Support Services<br />

St George's Chambers<br />

31 Merrial Street<br />

Newcastle<br />

Staffs<br />

ST5 2AE<br />

Tel: 0845 602 6772 Extn: 1529<br />

Fax: 01782 298228<br />

Dear Cath,<br />

In answer to Mr <strong>Perrott</strong>’s query below,<br />

He is correct in that the Drugs and Alcohol Teams routinely do not treat involuntary<br />

tranquilliser addiction, only illicit addiction.<br />

The PCT/CCG does not provide a specific service for these patients and it would be<br />

something they would need to discuss with their prescribing doctor who should have<br />

sufficient expertise to <strong>of</strong>fer a safe withdrawal programme within their own practice.<br />

There are unfortunately many patients in this predicament in the Stoke-on-Trent area,<br />

Stoke-on-Trent is the one <strong>of</strong> the highest prescribers <strong>of</strong> these type <strong>of</strong> drugs in the West<br />

Midlands.<br />

Benzodiazepine hypnotics should be used only if insomnia is severe, disabling or<br />

causing the patient extreme distress. The lowest dose that controls symptoms should<br />

be used, for a maximum <strong>of</strong> four weeks and intermittently, if possible. Due to the lack

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