Current Petitions

I remember the petition because the petitioner made a strong case when he spoke to the committee. Because the responses that we have received to the questions that we asked take a different position from Mr Brown's, it may be appropriate for us to return to Mr Brown and ask him to comment on those responses.

I have nothing substantially different to say. The minister states that the decision whether consumption would be supervised"rests on the prescriber's clinical judgement as to the patient's medical condition".It is difficult for us to gainsay that. However, as Mr Brown said, the question is whether clinicians always make that judgment and a prescription is always given with due consideration to the circumstances in which it is delivered. The general practitioner prescribes the drug, but it is typically delivered at some form of pharmacy. I hope that we can get some reassurance that the GP would know the situation in which an individual was to receive his or her methadone, as that is important. Perhaps we could ask for clarification on that either from the BMA or from the minister, as it seems to be a fundamental issue. If we had an assurance that there is a proper tie-up between the GP and the pharmacist, I would feel easier about the sort of issues that Mr Brown outlined. I also agree that we should ask for Mr Brown's comments on the responses that we have received.