Survey of services John Perrott - APPGITA
Survey of services John Perrott - APPGITA
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