§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake a study in other European countries of the outcomes of drug treatment regimes which rely mainly upon opioid substitution treatment with buprenorphine. [121230]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe National Treatment Agency (NTA) has no plans to undertake such a study in other European countries. The NTA has a responsibility to review research and disseminate findings to enhance quality of drug treatment in this country.
The current evidence does not suggest that buprenorphine should replace methadone as a substitution treatment, but rather that burprenorphine should now be considered an addition to the range of pharmacological maintenance treatments. Information from specialists indicates that there has already been an increase in the use of buprenorphine (or Subutex) in the United Kingdom as an alternative to methadone.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what requests for information, advice or assistance he has made to countries where best practice for the treatment of opioid dependency relies on buprenorphine rather than heroin or methadone. [121231]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Department has made no specific requests for information, advice or assistance around buprenorphine from other countries. The National Treatment Agency has a responsibility to review research and disseminate findings to enhance quality of drug treatment in this country.
The current evidence does not suggest that buprenorphine should replace methadone as a 134W substitution treatment, but rather that burprenorphine should now be considered an addition to the range of pharmacological maintenance treatments. Information from specialists indicates that there has already been an increase in the use of buprenorphine (or Subutex) in the United Kingdom as an alternative to methadone.