§ Mr. Woodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the report of the medical working group on drug dependence will be published.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeIn Brighton earlier this month I announced a series of initiatives to fight drug abuse in this country including an extra £5 million to be used in prevention and other measures. In my speech I said that there was a need for better guidance for doctors on the best clinical practice for treating drug abusers and this would be distributed widely later this month. I am publishing today the guidelines which have been prepared by the medical working group on drug dependence and I am most grateful to them for the dedication and speed with which they have produced the report. Copies of the report called `Good Clinical Practice in the Treatment of Drug Misuse' have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The Government welcome the report which recommends that doctors in all disciplines, and in whatever setting they work, have a responsibility to provide care for drug misusers, and gives valuable and detailed guidance about treatment. The guidelines explain that doctors should consider all the needs of the individual patient as well as tackling the particular drug misuse problem.
The guidelines emphasise the need for careful diagnosis, provide advice on assessment, and the need to agree appropriate treatment with the individual patient. They stress the importance of a co-operative approach with other statutory and voluntary agencies and the involvement and support of the family and friends of the drug misusers because medical care must be one part only of the process of tackling all the person's problems in every possible way.
Dr. Donald Acheson, the Chief Medical Officer, in commending the report to the medical profession, endorses the Group's hope that their guidelines will provide a flexible framework within which doctors can continue to develop a constructive response to the problem of drug misuse. He is sending copies of the report as soon as possible to all general practitioners, hospital doctors and to the prison medical service, as well as to health authorities and interested professional and voluntary organisations, in England. Similar action to distribute the report will be taken in Scotland and Wales.
The preparation of the guidance in this report is an important part of the Government's strategy for the prevention and treatment of drug misuse.