BMA calls for creation of prescription drug helpline

The British Medical Association (BMA) has called on the government to introduce a UK-wide 24-hour helpline for prescription drug dependence, to support patients who are being weaned of drugs.

The news comes after benzodiazepines, a drug taken for severe anxiety, insomnia and pain relief has caused particular concern, resulting in a number of patients becoming addicted to the substance.

According to data from NHS Digital, over 10 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines were issued in 2015, 0.9 per cent of all prescriptions dispensed during 2015. Furthermore, while guidance directs that benzodiazepines should be prescribed for no longer than four weeks, there have been reports of some patients using the drug for much longer periods of time.

In an interview with BBC 5, Dr Andrew Green, the BMA's GP clinical and prescribing policy lead, said: "Establishing a national helpline should be a top priority to provide better service to individuals with prescribed drug dependence.

"There is also the need for specialist services to be consistently available across the country. Patients have not had their problems adequately recognised in the past and we need to put that right. When patients try and come off, they get withdrawal syndrome and that encourages them to keep taking them and doctors sometimes prescribe them longer than they ought to."

As part of its recommendations, the BMA has also called for clearer guidance for practitioners on helping people manage to cut down and stop taking prescription medications.

Responding to the BMA’s call, a spokesman for the Department of Health in England, said: "Anyone who is concerned that they may be dependent on medicines which have been prescribed to them can get advice from their GP, a community pharmacist, the 111 helpline or the online NHS Choices service.

"In addition, the government's drugs information service, Talk to FRANK provides advice on how to access specialist drug treatment services, including services which help people who have a dependence on a medicine prescribed to them."