By Lloyd Mudiwa.
GPs generally tend to view benzodiazepines as relatively innocuous and can be unaware of their high level of abuse and street use, the founding Professor of General Practice at University College Cork has warned.
Speaking ahead of the ‘Benzodiazepines: An Integrated Response’ conference, Prof Colin Bradley told Irish Medical Times that while GPs were aware on one level of the dangers of the drug, others were not quite aware of their prevalence.
“A lot of GPs would think that while not entirely desirable, benzodiazepines are not that dangerous,” he commented.
The conference, a community outreach drug awareness project open to the public, takes place at the Best Western Montenotte Hotel (Garden Suite) in Cork City, next Wednesday (November 9) from 6.30pm to 9pm. It is a collaboration between Cork City Partnership and Cork Local Drugs Task Force (CLDTF).
Prof Bradley said the low level of risk perception was perpetuated because some GPs had some patients on benzodiazepines for some time without it seemingly doing them any great harm. It was also difficult for GPs to identify the minority for whom the drug might be doing harm, he added.
Prof Bradley, who was on the Commission on Benzodiazepine Prescribing and the Cardiovascular Strategy Review Group, will review its 2001 recommendations and guidelines to GPs, highlighting the lack of any apparent progress on reducing benzodiazepine use and abuse 10 years later.
According to Prof Bradley, some 10 per cent of medical cardholders were on benzodiazepines in 2001, and 10 years on not much has changed in terms of the volume of benzodiazepines prescribed. This, he said, could be attributed to the fact that GPs have few therapeutic options owing to the way the health service has been reconfigured, with access to specialist services only available through consultants.
Furthermore, more appropriate treatments — for example, for patients with mild to moderate symptoms — such as counselling, mental health and psychology services were already oversubscribed by patients with more severe conditions.
There was a need for a follow-on engagement with GPs in order to maintain awareness and the ICGP, which will address the same issue at its Winter Meeting on November 26, has started reviewing the issue, said Prof Bradley.
Dr Terry Lynch, the author of Beyond Prozac who has just published Selfhood: A Key to the Recovery of Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental Health Problems, will be guest speaker at the conference.
lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
About Lloyd Mudiwa
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