MELTON doctors are hesitant to meet the demand of an increasing population of heroin addicts, with only one general practitioner prescribing methadone.
A report released today by the HealthWest partnership reveals that Melton desperately needs more GPs to prescribe opioid replacement therapy.
The report, No Longer Just An Inner-city Issue, shows Melton’s heroin use has jumped 391 per cent since 2002. The number of people registered for methadone increased from 34 to 167 in 2012.
The report shows 38,450 syringes were distributed in Melton in 2012. Since 2002, demand for syringes has increased by 87.1 per cent.
Melton has two registered Department of Health needle exchange outlets and three community pharmacies that provide needles and syringes.
Five pharmacies in Melton distribute methadone, but they are all located in Coburn ward, leaving Cambridge and Watts residents without direct access.
Westcare Medical Centre’s Graham Jacobs said one GP prescribed methadone at the centre.
He said GPs across the board were reluctant to prescribe methadone.
“We used to have two doctors who prescribed it, but one doctor gave it up because he found it quite stressful,” Dr Jacobs said.
“It’s very difficult when the patients don’t follow the program properly – it’s emotional stuff.”
HealthWest project manager James Dunne said many GPs who had undertaken methadone training were not actively prescribing because they lacked the support needed to handle drug-affected clients.
“One of the big barriers GPs face in being able to prescribe is that they don’t feel they have the help available to handle complex clients,” Mr Dunne said.
He said for drug users in suburbs without prescribing GPs or distributing pharmacies, the “cycle of drug addiction just keeps going”.
“People are having to travel quite far to access GPs who prescribe methadone, and methadone distributors aren’t located evenly across the west,” he said.
