Doctors ‘prescribe sleeping pills to teens’

DOCTORS are prescribing teenagers as young as 14 sleeping pills to cope with exam stress, according to the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.

Deputy Batt O’Keeffe claimed a crackdown on “irresponsible prescribing by GPs” was necessary, as well as tougher regulations to deal with the issue.

But a parents group said his committee would do better to address the causes of teenage stress.

Mr O’Keeffe said he would be raising the issue with the Irish Medical Council (IMC) and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).

“Quite simply, it is wrong to prescribe sleeping tablets to children as young as 14. Sleeping tablets are addictive, health experts have described them as extremely dangerous,” he said.

Deputy O’Keeffe said the matter was brought to his attention by a prominent parents’ group, which said it had evidence that GPs were prescribing sleeping tablets to teenagers.

The National Congress of Catholic Secondary School Parent Associations (CSPA) said Mr O’Keeffe’s statement called into question the integrity of GPs and parents who bring their children to doctors for help.

“The health committee would be better employed examining the health of our children and how it’s affected by the education system, rather then the actions of those trying to protect children from the fallout of the system,” CSPA spokesperson Barbara Johnston said.

“Instead of calling GPs irresponsible, perhaps Mr O’Keeffe should call the education system irresponsible and bring that debate into the public domain,” she said.

The ICGP said Deputy O’Keeffe’s statement did not provide any documentary evidence to back up its claims.

“We would recommend that sleeping pills and other anxiolytic medications not be prescribed to young people, especially around exam times as they can impair performance,” said ICGP chairman, Dr Richard Brennan.

The IMC, which regulates the medical profession, said any evidence of misprescribing by doctors should be presented to the council.