The prescription of sleeping pills and tranquillisers should be reduced and carefully monitored because of the dangers of addiction and dependency, a group of health professionals is due to say.
The alliance, which includes the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the Department of Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is calling on doctors to prescribe drugs such as the benzodiazepine Valium only under very particular circumstances, The Times said.
In a statement it asks that doctors and patients agree on the length of a course of sleeping pills or tranquillisers, and that such use should be reviewed regularly.
It also demands that patients be made aware of the possible harm caused by long-term use, and calls for greater support for people when they stop using medication to combat the risk of prolonged withdrawal symptoms.
The group, which also includes the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, believes the same level of care should also be applied to people taking painkillers that can be bought without a prescription.
Professor Clare Gerada, chairman of the RCGP, said: "Medicines such as tranquillisers do work for many patients but they need to fully understand the risks."
Source: Belfast Telegraph, 16/01/13
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
