Dear Mr Perrott,
Thank you for your further email of 11 October to Anne Milton about addiction to prescribed benzodiazepine. I have been asked to reply on her behalf.
As both the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are independent of the Department of Health, I would recommend that you raise your concerns about the MHRA and the DWP with those organisations directly. The contact details are:
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
5 Yellow
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SZ
Tel: 020 3080 6000
Email: info@mhra.gsi.gov.uk
Department for Work and Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9DA
Tel: 020 7340 4000
Email: ministers@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Your email contains a number of points about Department of Health issues that you have raised before, and which the Department has previously answered. Therefore, this reply is limited to those issues that have not been covered in earlier correspondence.
The Minister met the chair and vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction (APPGITA) ahead of the roundtable meeting to discuss the Department’s plans for the meeting and hear from them what APPGITA would like to see in the future. At this meeting, it was suggested that the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction might have some relevant data about other countries.
As you are aware, the roundtable meeting was convened on 15 September and included representation from current patients and dedicated benzodiazepine services. Discussions focused on the future action to tackle addiction to medicines. This included consideration of the specific actions required to:
- support GPs to respond to the issues of addiction to medicine;
- improve access to treatment and support;
- improve the commissioning of services to local need; and
- increase public and professional awareness of addiction to medicines
The Department will be publishing the list of agreed actions in due course and reconvening the expert group to review progress in four to six months time.
Finally, local areas are currently responsible for the design and provision of treatment and support services and the Health and Social Care Bill that is currently before Parliament will provide them with further opportunities to join up services to better meet the needs of their local community. The Bill will enable local areas to better
understand the local need in relation to addiction to medicines and to deliver services that meet it.
Thank you for your continued interest.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Heaton
Customer Service Centre
Department of Health
27 October 2011