Substance misuse could be tackled through new contract
Substance misuse treatment programmes in Scotland could be improved if NHS boards make use of the new community pharmacy contract.
This is one of the recommendations made by the Scottish
Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse (SACDM) in response to a national investigation into drug-related
deaths published this week.
The SACDM says that the new GP and pharmacy
contracts give NHS boards
an opportunity to create a contractual framework that improves the quality
of care for substance misusers.
“The new pharmacy contract should be seen as an opportunity to
increase the number of supervised consumption places available in community
pharmacies,” it
states. It further recommends that information about the danger of mixing
drugs and alcohol should be made available through pharmacies.
Concerns over the long-term prescribing of opiate analgesics and benzodiazepines,
including how such medicines are diverted for illicit use, were raised
in the investigation. The SACDM says this needs to be addressed. It also
recommends that the Scottish Executive should evaluate innovative treatments
for substance misuse, noting experience in France that suggests that
use of buprenorphine reduces drug-related deaths.
The Scottish Executive will produce an action plan based on the SACDM
recommendations later this year. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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