THE lack of a methadone maintenance programme for drug addicts in Cork has been criticised at the annual conference of the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Despite the backing of the scheme by the Department of Health in Dublin, Cork was without any treatment for heroin addicts because of the policy of the Southern Health Board, according to Dr Ted O'Brien, a former president of the ICGP and a doctor in Cork city.
The board, he said, appeared to be in conflict with Department of Health policy. He warned that Cork could face a problem similar to that in Dublin if action was not taken.
"For some obscure reason the Southern Health Board members decided against methadone as a treatment method," said Dr O'Brien. "They seemed to think that it was not really a treatment even though it is driven by the Department of Health in Dublin."
He said that although there was not a heroin problem in Cork, now was the time to put proper services in place.
"There was no methadone programme in Dublin in the 1980s and the drug problem is epidemic now. By the time the treatment strategy was worked out it had got out of hand and they never caught up with it."
He said there was no reason why the heroin problem would not spread to other cities.
"Drug pushers are being pushed out of Dublin. It seems reasonable that they would look for a softer market such as Cork. We need to be organised for that."
He was backed by Dr Margaret Bourke, a GP who works in the Eastern board's AIDS/drug services in Dublin.
Dr O'Brien said that according to the policy of the Southern Health Board he was not allowed to prescribe methadone to drug addicts unless on a private prescription which they would have to pay for themselves. While there was no heroin problem in Cork, addicts have returned to the city who wished to go on a methadone maintenance programme.
"I feel this is a great mistake," he said.
According to Dr Bourke, the treatment was free in Dublin. She said making addicts pay for the methadone "just perpetuates the problem by sending them out to rob so they can afford it".
More than 2,000 people are taking part in the methadone maintenance programme in Dublin.
Another looming problem, said Dr Bourke, would be the number of addicts who have hepatitis C. Recent studies had shown that up to 70 per cent of addicts under 20 and as many as 80 per cent of older addicts now had the virus.
"It is quite frightening and has huge budgetary implications for the future," she said.
Dr O'Brien said there was a lack of health board treatment facilities in Cork for people addicted to hard drugs with just one nonresidential treatment programme available.