FAMILY doctors could take 1,000 drug addicts off treatment waiting lists if they were allowed treat more people, a leading GP has said.
Dr Patrick Troy, who has worked in addiction services for 15 years, said the move would be of particular benefit in many places outside Dublin, where there is a serious lack of treatment facilities.
His call comes as waiting lists for methadone treatment in parts of Dublin and much of the country have increased.
Figures from the new National Drugs Strategy (NDS) 2009-2016 show there are 550 people on waiting lists.
The figures show only 30% of clinics have met a key target: to provide treatment to users within a month.
Nine out of 26 clinics have waiting times over three months, with four of these with waiting times of a year or more.
Dr Troy works in the Aisling Centre in Ballyfermot, Dublin, and a drug treatment clinic in Carlow, as well as at his own surgery.
He said addicts from throughout the country, some coming as far as Donegal, Mayo and Cork, travel – at taxpayers’ expense – to Dublin to access treatment.
He said much of the waiting list problem was because clinics could not move people on to GPs in the community.
He said there were 300 patients in Aisling and a waiting list of around eight to nine months.
Dr Troy said 100 could be moved on, but added: "You can’t simply move people out if there’s no one to take them in the community."
Dr Troy said there needed to be more trained GPs in the community and a change to the current cap on how many people they can treat.
GPs involved in drug treatment are divided into level 1 and level 2. Those in level 1 can treat addicts who are stabilised and referred to them by a clinic.
Dr Tory said level 2 GPs, such as himself, have greater experience and training and "most importantly" are allowed to start treatment themselves.
He said level 1 GPs can take a maximum of 15 patients, while the cap for level 2 doctors is 35.
"There are approximately 70 level 2 GPs in the community, full to ‘cap’ capacity.
"By increasing the cap number from 35 to 55 an additional 1,000 drug addicts can be taken off waiting lists, especially in areas outside of Dublin."
He said these level 2 GPs could assist many parts of the country that are without local treatment services.
"Towns such as Naas, Navan, Athy, Gorey, Wexford, Kilkenny and Drogheda, currently devoid of services, could be facilitated."
The NDS said most of the 550 people on waiting lists were in seven treatment centres, in the midlands, the south-east, the south and in Dublin.
Supporting Dr Troy’s call, it said: "The main reason for the waiting lists outside Dublin is the lack of level 2 GPs."
The NDS has recommended that the upper limit for experienced GPs be increased.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, June 16, 2009
