COSTS DOUBLE FOR DRUG TREATMENT

THE cost of medication used to wean city addicts off heroin has
almost doubled in the past two years. Peterborough's health authority
spent UKP46,657 on drugs such as methadone - a synthetic substance
used by addicts to kick their habit - between October 2005 and
September 2006. It compares to UKP26,205 spent in the previous period.

The amount spent on methadone itself jumped from UKP13,673 to
UKP22,055, while cash used to buy buprenorphine, another drug used to
treat heroin addiction, rose from UKP10,713 to UKP22,055.

Both drugs usually have to be taken by users under the supervision of
a pharmacist.

However, experts say that the increase in the amount of money spent
on the drugs indicates that treatment is more widely available in the
city, rather than there being a massive increase in heroin users.

Chief executive of Bridgegate Drug Services, in Broadway,
Peterborough, Lindsey Barrows-McGill said: "I would say this
indicates that the National Treatment Agency Strategy, which aims to
get more people prescribed treatments, is working very well."

A total of 1,117 people attended Bridgegate over the past year for treatment.

The centre helps people who are hooked on all sorts of drugs,
including heroin, cannabis and crack cocaine, and offers a range of
treatments, such as counselling and community work.

Medicines management and prescribing manager at the city's Primary
Care Trust (PCT) Sharron Patrick said: "There are a number of reasons
as to why more money is being spent on these drugs.

"More people may be asking for help, the population is increasing and
we have recently acquired the prison, which may house some people who
need to use these drugs."

She added that drugs such as methadone are also used in palliative
care, to help people suffering from certain types of cancer, and the
PCT was unable to break the figures down to tell how much was spent
on addicts and how much was used in hospitals

Regional manager of the National Treatment Agency for Substance
Misuse (NTA) East of England, Janaka Perera, said: "More people in
Eastern England are receiving the treatment they need and more are
staying in treatment longer, which increases the chances of their
treatment being effective.

"Effective drug treatment delivers benefits to individuals, reduces
the spread of blood-bourne viruses, such as HIV and hepatitis, within
the community and improves safety by reducing drug-related crime."

Figures released by the NTA reveal that 13,748 drug misusers in the
region received specialist drug treatment in 2005 to 06, an increase
of nine per cent on 2004 to 05.

The most frequently reported drugs which are misused by adults in the
Peterborough area are heroin (57 per cent), cannabis (12 per cent),
crack or cocaine (14 per cent) and methadone or other opiates (nine per cent).

- - Bridgegate Drug Services can be contacted by calling 01733 314551.