"GPs need awareness about benzodiazepines" says voice from Cork

Speaking ahead of the ‘Benzodiazepines: An Integrated Response’ conference, Prof Colin Bradley told Irish Medical Times that while GPs were aware on one level of the dangers of the drug, others were not quite aware of their prevalence.

http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2011/11/gps-need-awareness-about-benzodiazepines.html

According to Prof Bradley, some 10 per cent of medical cardholders were on benzodiazepines in 2001, and 10 years on not much has changed in terms of the volume of benzodiazepines  prescribed. This, he said, could be attributed to the fact that GPs have few therapeutic options owing to the way the health service has been reconfigured, with access to specialist services only available through consultants.

Furthermore, more appropriate treatments — for example, for patients with mild to moderate symptoms — such as counselling, mental health and psychology services were already oversubscribed by patients with more severe conditions.

Interesting ....

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