Hospital expands drug clinic

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33219, 8 May 1973, Page 2

Hospital expands drug clinic

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. Maj’ 7. ( Oakley Hospital is increasing the size of its drug treatment team to cope with an increase in work expected when the new Narcotics Regulations come into force on Thursday. In the last few weeks the

hospital has been advertising for additional staff for its drug programme in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, and home visiting. The medical superintendent at Oakley (Dr P. P. E. Savage), confirmed today that the staff increases were primarily for the Cathedral Clinic, the out-patient clinic at Parnell run by the hospital for drug addicts. Comparatively few addicts have attended this clinic since it was opened late last year.

Most still go to the private clinic run by a Parnell medical practitioner, Dr R. A. Roche. Under the new regulations, doctors will no longer be allowed to prescribe narcotics to patients on a continuing basis. All prescribing will have to be done by the designated official clinic, in this case the Cathedral Clinic. Asked whether he expected a big increase in patient numbers once the new regulations came into force, Dr Savage said: “It is impossible to tell what will happen, but we must be prepared to cope with anything. Looking at the new legislation, I think the clinic has to be prepared to deal with a large number of new patients.” PROBLEMS NOTED Dr Roche, who on Thursday could lose about 80 patients now undergoing treatment for drug addiction, said in an interview that he would meet the superintend-ent-in-chief of the Auckland Hospital Board (Dr R. F. Moody) tomorrow. Dr Roche said he had had talks on Friday with the Minister of Health (Mr Tizard), and the Minister was now well aware of the problems that might arise if the addicts’ treatment suddenly were to be cut off. Mr Tizard had suggested that Dr Roche should meet Dr Moody to discuss the situation. Dr Roche said that in the meantime he would give all the patients in his methadone

maintenance programme a prescription for a month’s supply of the drug, the maximum allowed under the present law. To minimise the danger of abuse, each patient would be allowed to obtain only one day’s supply at a time from his chemist. By the time the patients had used their medication the situation regarding their future treatment should be clarified. Dr Roche said his drug addict patients felt uncertain about the future of their treatment. “I hope some sort of smooth change-over can be worked out. If there is too much disorganisation this could have disastrous effects, both on the health of the patients and from the social point of view.” “TEAM APPROACH” Dr Roche said the impression Mr Tizard had given him was that he favoured a medical team approach to the drug addiction problem in Auckland, with no one person having complete power to decide the sort of treatment that should be used. Mr Tizard had also favoured the idea of each patient being assessed individually. “The patients accept these principles, too,” said Dr Roche. “They realise the need for a greater involvement of personnel and a proper assessment team, but they are very much against any rigid, dogmatic approach.”