'No provision' for victims of prescribed drugs

The Earl of Sandwich writes for ePolitix.com ahead of his House of Lords question on the long-term side effects and withdrawal symptoms of prescription drugs. Skip related content

There are perhaps 1.5m people in the UK who are addicted to benzodiazepines, over four times as many as illicit drugs.

Since January a member of my family has been suffering from acute withdrawal from this prescribed drug: his dreadful symptoms mean he is confined to his room, unable to work or take the children to school.

He receives no government or medical support because there is none.

I am therefore asking the government next week to take more urgent action to draw attention to this problem, help victims of benzodiazepine withdrawal and develop a proper network in, or alongside, the NHS to care for them.

The government in its reply will no doubt confirm that it is conducting a policy review of addiction to prescribed drugs.

But we need to know what the timetable is, when the report will be completed and when the new policy will be announced.

There is almost no provision for the victims of prescribed drugs.

My family would like the government to establish and assist specialist clinics as well as regional and local support groups to care for victims of withdrawal from benzodiazepines like the member of my family, who at the moment has nowhere to go.

There is also the question of the pharmaceutical companies and the medical profession: are they providing adequate warnings of the risks of dependence on and withdrawal from benzodiazepines?

In my experience they are not. Additional training needs to be provided through primary care trusts for GPs, nurses, students and others entering the medical profession in the symptoms and effects of withdrawal from benzodiazepines.

The government could also highlight the dangers of withdrawal from benzodiazepines by arranging a conference attended by the British Medical Association, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, pharmaceutical companies and other interested parties.